Bishop, CA Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)

Collecting rainwater for outdoor use is permitted across unincorporated Inyo County, and there is no county ordinance banning it. California's Rainwater Capture Act of 2012 (Assembly Bill 1750) authorizes residential, commercial, and governmental landowners to install, maintain, and operate rain barrel and rainwater capture systems that capture water flowing off a building rooftop for subsequent on-site use. The Act specifically provides that a landowner is not required to obtain any permit from a local public agency to install, maintain, or operate a rain barrel system, and that use of rooftop-collected rainwater does not require a water-right permit from the State Water Resources Control Board. The principal exceptions: if installing a system requires disconnecting a downspout from a sewer connection, the local agency may require a permit for proper capping; rain barrel systems are for outdoor, non-potable uses; and larger or pumped/engineered systems may still need to meet California Plumbing Code (Title 24) and building-standard requirements. The County's Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance and state MWELO both encourage capturing and reusing rainwater on site. Note that surface water and groundwater rights in the Owens Valley are heavily tied to LADWP, but rooftop rainwater capture for personal landscape use is governed by AB 1750, not those water rights.