Yavapai County, AZ Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)

Rainwater harvesting isn't banned or separately licensed in unincorporated Yavapai County; it's built into three different parts of the code. Under the zoning ordinance's Community Garden performance standards, Section 512(I) allows 'a rainwater harvesting system component and/or up to a three thousand (3000) gallon enclosed water storage tank' on any parcel operated as a community garden, alongside the other Section 512 conditions: no on-site produce sales, no farm animals, dust control, and a requirement that the land revert to vacant use if the garden use lapses for twelve months.

Outside that specific use, any rainwater collection and distribution system still falls under Yavapai County's adopted Plumbing Code, Chapter 13, 'Nonpotable Water Systems.' The county's building ordinance addresses Section 1303, Nonpotable Rainwater Collection and Distribution Systems, directly, deleting only the roof-gutter inspection and test requirement in 1303.15.1 and leaving the rest of the International Plumbing Code's rainwater-system standards in force for Building Safety review.

Rainwater harvesting also pays off for larger developments: Section 441(D)(1)(j) of the zoning ordinance lists 'rainwater harvesting facilities that capture a majority of rainwater for all homes' as one of twelve conservation and sustainable design elements a Conservation Subdivision can use toward a 1.5x or 2.0x density bonus over the base Density District allowance in Section 516.