Dubuque, IA Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)

Dubuque's stormwater management standard, Dubuque City Code § 16-13-3-4, requires site development, including parking lots, to use two or more low impact development tools or other best management practices approved by the city engineer, on top of the design requirements in Title 14, Chapter 12 (public works stormwater code). Rainwater harvesting systems, defined as cisterns and rain barrels that harvest water from roof drains and downspouts for landscape watering and nonpotable uses, are listed among the qualifying tools alongside reduced lot grading, check dams, French drains, green roofs, permeable pavement, bioswales, native plantings and rain gardens.

Because the ordinance sets a menu rather than a single mandate, a project can satisfy the requirement without touching rainwater harvesting at all, but choosing it counts as one of the two required tools, giving builders a credit-bearing path to install cisterns rather than facing a stand-alone barrier. The provision comes from Ordinance 52-09 (October 19, 2009), as amended by Ordinance 2-23 (January 17, 2023), and is administered by the city engineer during site plan review under Title 16.