Tuolumne County encourages rainwater capture rather than restricting it. The County Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (Chapter 15.28) recommends rain gardens, cisterns, and other capture and infiltration features, and exempts landscape areas irrigated with on-site captured rainwater from the water-budget calculation.
Rainwater harvesting is encouraged, not regulated as a restriction, in unincorporated Tuolumne County. The County's Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance, Chapter 15.28 of the Ordinance Code (Ord. 3293, 2015), addresses stormwater and rainwater in Section 15.28.160 (Stormwater management), which states that incorporating stormwater best management practices is encouraged and that 'rain gardens, cisterns, and other landscape features and practices that increase rainwater capture and create opportunities for infiltration and/or rainwater retention are recommended.' The ordinance also rewards capture in its water budget: landscape areas irrigated using graywater or stored rainwater captured on site are exempt from the Estimated Total Water Use/water-budget provisions, so capturing rain helps a project meet its water-efficiency target. Applicants for covered projects are directed to identify any applicable rain harvesting or catchment technologies, such as rain gardens, on their plans. California law (Assembly Bill 1750, the Rainwater Capture Act of 2012) generally allows residential rooftop rainwater capture without a water-right permit, and small rain barrels and cisterns are typically allowed; larger systems or those plumbed into the building can trigger California Plumbing Code requirements. There is no Tuolumne County ordinance prohibiting residential rain barrels or rooftop catchment. Owners installing larger storage or systems connected to indoor plumbing should check Building Division requirements, but routine rain barrels for outdoor irrigation are unrestricted.
There are no county penalties for ordinary residential rainwater harvesting; the County encourages it. Issues arise only if a larger or plumbed system is installed without required building/plumbing permits, or if a tank or catchment structure is built without meeting setback or structural standards. Routine outdoor rain barrels are not regulated as violations.
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Tuolumne County, CA
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