Santa Cruz County, CA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Outdoor water use in the unincorporated County is layered. At the state level, the State Water Resources Control Board's permanent water-waste prohibitions (originally adopted as emergency regulations and readopted) make certain practices unlawful regardless of drought: applying potable water to outdoor landscapes in a way that causes runoff onto pavement or into gutters; using a hose to wash down driveways or sidewalks; washing a vehicle with a hose lacking a shutoff nozzle; and running ornamental fountains without recirculation. California's 'Making Conservation a California Way of Life' framework (SB 606/AB 1668, SB 1572) also phases out irrigation of non-functional decorative turf at commercial and institutional sites. At the local level, the County's own Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (Chapter 13.13) limits irrigation of new and substantially remodeled landscapes and prohibits daytime irrigation (no watering between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. for regulated projects unless plant health requires it). Day-of-week watering schedules and drought stages are set by the water purveyor serving each parcel (for example, Soquel Creek Water District), which can be looked up on the County GIS Special Districts layer.