Downey, CA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

5 Water Conservation Regulations and Restrictions, sets the operative watering schedule for every potable-water customer in the city. m. Pacific Standard Time, and each irrigation-controller station is capped at six minutes per designated irrigation day. The code also fixes which days count: from October through April, potable irrigation is allowed no more than two days a week, and from May through September no more than three days a week, always on the address's designated irrigation days. Addresses ending in an even number water Tuesdays, Thursdays and/or Saturdays; addresses ending in an odd number water Mondays, Wednesdays and/or Fridays.

Golf courses, agricultural customers and landscape nurseries can exceed these limits only with a plan approved by the Director of Public Works or a designee. Hand-held containers, drip irrigation, and stream-rotor sprinklers meeting a 70% efficiency standard are exempt from the six-minute duration cap, and irrigation-system repair or adjustment work is exempt from the time-of-day window. Section 7350(a)(7) separately bans irrigation runoff onto sidewalks, streets or neighboring lots, subsection (8) prohibits handheld-hose watering unless the hose carries a positive shut-off nozzle, and subsection (9) bars potable irrigation during and for 48 hours after measurable rainfall.