Rainwater harvesting is legal and encouraged in unincorporated Solano County. There is no county ordinance prohibiting rain barrels or cisterns; California law (the Rainwater Capture Act of 2012) permits residential rooftop capture without a water-rights permit. Under the County's adopted MWELO (Chapter 13.5), landscapes irrigated entirely with captured rainwater or graywater receive a streamlined compliance path.
Capturing rainwater for landscape and outdoor use is permitted in unincorporated Solano County. California's Rainwater Capture Act of 2012 (Water Code Section 10573 et seq.) authorizes residential, commercial, and institutional property owners to install and operate rainwater-capture systems for onsite use from rooftops without obtaining a water-rights permit from the State Water Resources Control Board. Solano County has no countywide ordinance banning or specially permitting rain barrels and small cisterns for typical residential use. The County's adopted Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (Solano County Code Chapter 13.5, applying CCR Title 23 Sections 490 et seq.) actively favors alternative water sources: under MWELO, landscapes under 2,500 square feet that are irrigated entirely with captured rainwater or graywater qualify for the simplified Prescriptive Compliance (Appendix D) pathway rather than the full water-budget calculation, and stormwater/rainwater capture features count toward water-efficiency goals. Larger above-ground tanks or structural cisterns may require a building permit through Building & Safety Services for the tank, foundation, or plumbing connection, and any system that connects to interior plumbing must meet California Plumbing Code backflow and cross-connection rules. Owners should size and site tanks to avoid creating mosquito-breeding standing water, which could otherwise become a nuisance.
There is generally no violation for installing residential rain barrels or small cisterns. Issues arise only from collateral requirements: installing a large tank or plumbing connection without a required building/plumbing permit, creating a cross-connection hazard to potable water, or allowing an uncovered tank to breed mosquitoes (a vector nuisance abatable under Chapter 10 and addressable by the mosquito-abatement district).
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