Brentwood, CA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

510 makes water waste a condition-of-service violation for every city water customer, not just during declared drought. daily, watering outdoor landscapes during or within 48 hours after a measurable rainfall, letting irrigation runoff flow onto sidewalks, roadways or adjacent property, washing a vehicle with a hose lacking a shut-off nozzle, running a decorative fountain that is not a recirculating system, and irrigating ornamental turf on public street medians at all. New homes and buildings must also irrigate consistent with California Building Standards Commission and Department of Housing and Community Development landscape water-use requirements.

The code separately requires a customer or their agent to fix a known malfunctioning irrigation device or supply line within 48 hours of discovering the problem; failing to do so is itself a violation. Hotels and motels must offer guests the option to skip daily towel and linen laundering and post that option in each guestroom. During a declared water shortage emergency, the city can also assign customers to watering groups under California Water Code Sections 350 through 359, and noncompliance with a group assignment is a separate waste violation layered on top of the daily-hour rule. These standards apply regardless of season; there is no exception for a wet winter beyond the 48-hour post-rain window.