Riverside is a co-permittee under the Santa Ana Region MS4 NPDES permit; only rainwater may enter storm drains, illicit discharges are prohibited, and new/redevelopment projects must submit a Water Quality Management Plan (WQMP) with Low Impact Development (LID) BMPs.
The City of Riverside is a co-permittee under the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board MS4 NPDES Permit (Order R8-2010-0033 / Riverside County permit), which discharges to the Santa Ana River watershed. The city's stormwater program is administered by Public Works Engineering. New Development and Significant Redevelopment projects must submit a project-specific Water Quality Management Plan (WQMP) prior to the first discretionary project approval or permit; the WQMP applies LID principles requiring projects to infiltrate, harvest-and-use, evapotranspire, or bio-treat stormwater on-site. Construction sites must implement BMPs for erosion, sediment, and material control. Only rainwater is permitted in the storm drain system — wash water, paint, oils, pool drainage, pesticides, and yard waste are prohibited non-stormwater discharges.
Illicit discharges and MS4 violations are enforced through Notices of Violation, stop-work orders, and administrative citations. Continuing or willful violations can be referred to the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, which has authority under California Water Code §13385 to assess civil liabilities up to $10,000 per day plus $10/gallon for unauthorized discharges.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Riverside, CA
RMC §7.35.010(B)(10) bars vehicle/motorcycle/motorboat/aircraft repair, rebuilding, modifying, or testing that disturbs across a residential line. Powered mo...
Riverside, CA
Riverside Municipal Code Chapter 19.550 prohibits hazardous fence materials such as barbed wire, razor wire, and electrified fencing in residential zones, an...
Riverside, CA
California SB 946 (Gov. Code §§ 51036-51039) decriminalized sidewalk vending statewide; cities may regulate but not ban outright. Riverside requires a Sidewa...
Riverside, CA
Riverside Municipal Code § 9.08.090 prohibits model airplane flying, model rockets, and 'any game of a hazardous nature' inside any City park except where sp...
Riverside, CA
Since July 1, 2022, Riverside's green cart is a combined organics cart: yard trimmings AND bagged food scraps go in the same brown-body/green-lid container p...
Riverside, CA
Dumping trash, furniture, mattresses, construction debris, or yard waste on any street, lot, alley, or wash within Riverside violates both Riverside Municipa...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Riverside County.
See how other cities in Riverside County handle stormwater management.
See how Riverside's stormwater management rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.