Albuquerque, NM Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)

Section 6-1-1-8(C) of the Revised Ordinances of Albuquerque, part of the city's Water Conservation Landscaping and Water Waste Ordinance, bars a property holders' association from enforcing any covenant provision that prohibits or restricts a property holder from using rain barrels or other water harvesting devices, so long as those devices adequately protect the public's health, safety, and welfare under subsection (C)(1)(c). The ordinance defines HARVESTED WATER at Section 6-1-1-3 as precipitation or irrigation runoff collected, stored, and available for reuse for irrigation purposes, distinguishing it from stormwater runoff the article does not otherwise regulate.

Associations are not stripped of all authority: subsection (C)(3) lets a property holders' association establish its own criteria regarding the type and placement of rainwater collection or harvesting equipment, so a barrel can still be required to sit behind a fence line or match approved designs, even though it cannot be banned outright. Subsection (C)(2) similarly lets an association set relandscaping criteria generally, but caps that authority at the turf percentage already allowed under subsection (B). For new development and major park, golf course, or athletic field renovations built after 1971, Section 6-1-1-9(H) separately directs designers to evaluate the potential for using harvested water and incorporate it into landscape design where practical, consistent with the city's Flood Hazard Control and Drainage Ordinances.

The rain barrel protection was added to the original 1995 Water Conservation Landscaping Ordinance and has carried through its amendments, most recently Ord. 41-2004, without being narrowed.