Clark County, NV Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)

Nevada Revised Statutes 533 and Assembly Bill 138 (2017) clarified that a single-family residential property owner may capture rainwater from a rooftop for non-potable outdoor use (landscape irrigation) without obtaining a state water right from the Nevada State Engineer. This resolved a decades-old concern that strict prior-appropriation water law made rain barrels technically illegal. Clark County adopts the state framework: roof-based rain barrels and modest cisterns for landscape irrigation on a single-family lot require no permit from the Department of Building and Fire Prevention as long as the tank is under 5,000 gallons, not pressurized for indoor plumbing, and meets standard setback and screening rules. Cisterns over 5,000 gallons or above-ground tanks visible from the street may require a building permit and Design Review. Potable indoor use or irrigation of commercial farms is not automatically allowed under AB 138 and needs separate permitting and Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health review. In the desert climate of Las Vegas (approximately 4 inches annual rainfall), rain harvesting is a supplement not a primary supply. SNWA and Las Vegas Valley Water District do not offer rebates for rain barrels but encourage passive harvesting through grading, berms, and rain gardens.