Dublin, CA Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)

Dublin has no ordinance prohibiting rainwater harvesting, and state law is supportive. Under California's Rainwater Capture Act of 2012 (AB 1750), residential, commercial, and governmental landowners may install, maintain, and operate rain barrels and rainwater-capture systems, and a residential landowner is not required to obtain a permit from a local agency to install or operate a rain barrel system, provided it complies with the California Building Standards Code. At the local level, Dublin's Water-Efficient Landscaping Regulations (DMC Chapter 8.88) actively encourage on-site rainwater retention: they encourage incorporating stormwater best-management practices into landscape and grading plans to increase on-site rainwater retention and infiltration, and DMC 8.88.020(C) allows a lot that meets its entire landscape water requirement through stored on-site captured rainwater (or graywater) to qualify under the simpler prescriptive measures. DSRSD also points customers to outdoor-conservation resources including rain barrels and graywater. Note that larger or more complex systems (for example, those above the small rain-barrel scale, or any system tied into plumbing) may trigger building or plumbing permit review, so confirm with the City's Building Division before installing a large cistern or a system connected to household plumbing.