Tracy, CA Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)
Key Facts
- Rule type
- Encouraged and recommended, not required
- Design target
- 1-inch or 85th-percentile 24-hour storm capture
- Listed techniques
- Rain gardens, cisterns, infiltration beds, swales
- Plan disclosure
- Must show 24-hour retention capacity if used
Summary
Tracy encourages, but does not mandate, rainwater capture: section 11.28.490 tells project applicants that stormwater best management practices, on-site retention and rain harvesting or catchment systems are "encouraged" and "recommended" tools for meeting the landscape ordinance's water budget, with a suggested 24-hour capacity target tied to local rainfall.
(a)Stormwater management practices minimize runoff and increase infiltration which recharges groundwater and improves water quality. Implementing stormwater best management practices into the landscape and grading design plans to minimize runoff and to increase on-site rainwater retention and infiltration are encouraged. ... (d)It is strongly recommended that landscape areas be designed for capture and infiltration capacity that is sufficient to prevent runoff from impervious surfaces (i.e. roof and paved areas) from either: the one inch, 24-hour rain event or (2) the 85th percentile, 24-hour rain event, and/or additional capacity as required by any applicable local, regional, state or federal regulation.(e)It is recommended that stormwater projects incorporate any of the following elements to improve on-site stormwater and dry weather runoff capture and use:(1)Grade impervious surfaces, such as driveways, during construction to drain to vegetated areas...(5)Incorporate rain gardens, cisterns, and other rain harvesting or catchment systems.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 69).
Full Breakdown
" Subsection (d) goes further with a specific design target: it is "strongly recommended" that landscape areas be sized with enough capture and infiltration capacity to prevent runoff from roofs and paved areas during either the one-inch, 24-hour storm or the 85th-percentile, 24-hour storm, plus any added capacity a regional or state regulation requires. 390(b)(11), with its 24-hour retention or infiltration capacity documented, and project applicants are told to check with the City or the Regional Water Quality Control Board for any technical stormwater requirements that apply to the site, per subsection (b).
Violations & Fines
Because section 11.28.490's capture and cistern provisions are written as encouragements and recommendations rather than mandates, there is no citation for skipping a rain garden or cistern. What can still draw an administrative citation and Council-set fine under section 11.28.350 is a landscape plan that fails the friable-soil retention standard cross-referenced in 11.28.490(c), which points back to the mandatory soil preparation duty in section 11.28.390(a)(3).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Tracy require me to install a rain barrel or cistern?
What capture target does the code suggest for rainwater systems?
If I install a rain harvesting system, do I have to tell the City?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tracy
California rules heatmap·Compare Tracy to another location·View the California landscaping rules overview
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Rainwater Harvesting in Nearby Cities
How other cities in San Joaquin County handle rainwater harvesting.