Sutter, CA Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)

The Sutter County Code of Ordinances contains no provision restricting the capture or storage of rainwater on residential property. State law affirmatively authorizes the practice: the Rainwater Capture Act of 2012 (California Water Code Part 2.4, Sections 10570-10574, enacted by AB 1750) provides in Section 10574 that use of rainwater collected from rooftops does not require a water-right permit under Water Code Section 1201. Section 10573 defines a 'rain barrel system' as a rainwater capture system that does not use electricity or a water pump and is not connected to or reliant on a potable water system, and a 'rainwater capture system' as a facility designed to capture, retain, and store rainwater flowing off a building rooftop for subsequent onsite use. Larger cistern systems connected to plumbing or used for non-potable indoor uses are subject to the California Plumbing Code and may require a county building or plumbing permit through Sutter County Development Services. MWELO also credits captured rainwater: under 23 CCR Section 490.1(d), small parcels that meet their entire landscape water requirement with stored rainwater captured on site face only minimal prescriptive requirements.