Sacramento, CA Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- City Code Ch. 13.16
- Nonstormwater discharge
- Prohibited, § 13.16.050
- Max civil penalty
- $5,000/day or $10/gallon
- Criminal classification
- Misdemeanor, § 13.16.180(D)
- Enforcing agency
- Dept. of Utilities enforcement official
- Development impervious area
- Storm drainage fee applies, § 13.16.125
Summary
Sacramento City Code Chapter 13.16 bans any nonstormwater discharge into the city's storm drain system unless it falls within a listed exemption. Violations carry civil penalties up to $5,000 per day or $10 per gallon, plus misdemeanor criminal liability, enforced by the Department of Utilities.
Except as provided in Section 13.16.060 of this chapter, it is unlawful for any person to make or cause to be made any nonstormwater discharge. Notwithstanding the exemptions provided by subsections A and B of Section 13.16.060 of this chapter, if the Regional Water Quality Control Board or the enforcement official determines that any otherwise exempt discharge causes or significantly contributes to violations of any plan standard, or conveys significant quantities of pollutants to any receiving waters, or is a nuisance or poses a risk to public health or safety, it is unlawful for any person to make or cause to be made such discharge to the stormwater conveyance system.
Full Breakdown
Section 13.16.050 makes it unlawful for any person to make or cause a nonstormwater discharge to the stormwater conveyance system, except as allowed under Section 13.16.060. That exceptions list is narrow: potable water line flushing, landscape irrigation, rising groundwater, foundation and footing drains, air conditioning condensate, noncommercial vehicle washing, natural flows from riparian habitats, dechlorinated pool discharges without biocides, fire suppression flows, diverted stream flows, uncontaminated groundwater infiltration, and construction-site street washing under a Department of Utilities certification. Even an otherwise-exempt discharge becomes unlawful under Section 13.16.050 if the Regional Water Quality Control Board or the city's enforcement official finds it contributes to a plan-standard violation, conveys significant pollutants, or poses a nuisance or safety risk.
Section 13.16.090 separately bans establishing or maintaining any unauthorized (illicit) connection to the system, and Section 13.16.100 makes it unlawful to cause, permit, aid, abet or conceal a violation of the chapter. Businesses engaged in outdoor maintenance, storage, manufacturing, or vehicle loading/fueling can be required under Section 13.16.120 to develop and implement a stormwater pollution prevention plan with an employee training program, and anyone developing property must prevent pollutants from entering the system and comply with the city's Grading, Erosion and Sediment Control Ordinance (Chapter 15.88).
Section 13.16.125 layers on a storm drainage development fee for any customer adding impervious area that drains to the city system, set by council resolution and adjusted every January using an Engineering News Record construction cost index formula. Under Section 13.16.150, Sacramento County can be authorized by interlocal agreement to inspect and enforce against commercial/industrial facilities inside city limits that discharge to the system, in which case county code (Chapter 15.12) governs that enforcement instead of city code Section 13.16.180(A)-(B).
Violations & Fines
Under Section 13.16.180(A), any violating discharge or condition is declared a public nuisance the enforcement official can order abated, cleaned up and mitigated, with costs billed to the property owner. Section 13.16.180(B)(6) authorizes civil penalties up to $5,000 per day or $10 per gallon discharged (not both), plus recovery of investigation and attorney costs. Section 13.16.180(D)(1) makes any violation a misdemeanor, with the enforcement official empowered to arrest or cite and release violators under the California Penal Code.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sacramento
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Stormwater Management in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Sacramento County handle stormwater management.