Cupertino, CA Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)

Cupertino Municipal Code Section 9.18.210, part of the Chapter 9.18 stormwater ordinance, lists minimum best management practices for every discharger in the City, and its drains-and-drain-lines provisions specifically require that roof runoff be directed to rain barrels, cisterns, or a similar rainwater collection system, or to landscaped areas, unless the Director of Public Works deems that infeasible. Projects in hillside areas may be exempted from the requirement with the Director's approval. The chapter's definitions section, 9.18.020, treats rain barrels and cisterns as Low Impact Development measures that reduce runoff and mimic a site's predevelopment hydrology by capturing stormwater close to its source rather than piping it away as waste.

The same section of 9.18.210 also bars connecting nonresidential rooftop equipment, tanks, and piping to the storm drain, and it requires secondary containment for roof-mounted liquids, with any roof drain or equipment discharge line to the sanitary sewer needing separate approval from the Cupertino Sanitary District. Because the harvesting requirement sits inside the general stormwater pollutant source control provisions, it carries the same enforcement as the rest of Chapter 9.18: violations are misdemeanors under Section 9.18.220, punishable under Chapter 1.12, and the City may pursue administrative citations under Chapter 1.10 or civil penalties under Section 9.18.230 in amounts set by Government Code Sections 54740 and 54740.5.