Dublin, CA Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)
Key Facts
- Mandatory rule
- no domestic-line connection (D.7)
- Permit check required
- contact Water District first (D.8)
- Rest of provisions
- encouraged, not mandatory
- Cross-referenced ordinance
- Stormwater Ch. 7.74
Summary
Dublin, California encourages, but does not mandate, rain gardens, rain barrels, and catchment systems in landscape design under Chapter 8.88, while barring any catchment system from connecting to the domestic water supply. Municipal Code Section 8.88.170 folds in the city's separate stormwater ordinance.
B. Project Applicants shall refer to City of Dublin's Stormwater Management and Discharge Control Ordinance (Chapter 7.74) and the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board Municipal Regional Stormwater NPDES Permit for information on any applicable stormwater regulatory requirements. ... 5. Incorporate rain gardens, rain barrels, and other rain harvesting or catchment systems. ... 7. Rainwater catchment systems cannot be connected with the domestic water system. 8. Applicants shall contact the Water District to determine if a permit is required for the installation of the rainwater catchment system.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2-26, passed March 3, 2026).
Full Breakdown
170, Stormwater Management and Rainwater Retention, sits inside Dublin's Water-Efficient Landscape Ordinance and addresses on-site rainwater capture as a recommended, not required, design practice. D lists specific elements projects may incorporate: grading impervious surfaces such as driveways to drain toward vegetated areas, minimizing paved and roofed impervious area, using pervious or porous surfaces, directing roof and paved-surface runoff into planting beds, and incorporating rain gardens, rain barrels, infiltration beds, swales, or basins. 8 requires the applicant to contact the Dublin San Ramon Services District, the Water District, to determine whether a permit is required before installing a catchment system.
74, and to the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board's Municipal Regional Stormwater NPDES Permit, for the regulatory requirements that actually govern runoff on a given site. j also requires any rain-harvesting or catchment technology shown on a landscape design plan to state its twenty-four-hour retention or infiltration capacity.
Violations & Fines
Rainwater harvesting itself is not mandatory, so there is no standalone fine for skipping it, but a catchment system wired into the domestic water line violates Section 8.88.170.D.7, and installing one without checking the Water District permit requirement under Section 8.88.170.D.8 can also draw a citation. As a Chapter 8.88 matter within Title 8, that kind of violation is an infraction under Section 8.144.060, with fines up to $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second within a year, and $500 for a third under Section 8.144.070.B.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is rainwater harvesting required in Dublin?
Can I connect a rain barrel to my house's plumbing?
Do I need a permit for a catchment system?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dublin
California rules heatmap·Compare Dublin to another location·View the California landscaping rules overview
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