Imperial County, CA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Imperial County adopted its own water-conserving landscape requirements in Title 9, Division 3, Chapter 2 (§§90302.00-90302.20), enacted as a state mandate for water-conservation landscaping (§90302.12 cites Government Code authority). The core cap (§90302.15) is that the maximum amount of water applied per year to any landscape shall average no greater than 30 inches of supplemental water; designers must run a water-use calculation that balances low-, medium-, and high-use planting zones so the total water-use factor does not exceed the planted area. Irrigation design criteria (§90302.14) require that application rate not exceed the soil infiltration rate, use of low-volume sprinkler heads, drip emitters, and pressure-compensating bubblers, separation of drip vs. spray stations, and automatic controllers with rain-shutoff capability, a 14-day calendar, two programs, and three cycles/day. A four-season irrigation schedule must be supplied to the owner (§90302.13). These design rules apply to new and rehabilitated landscaping for industrial, commercial, and institutional projects, multi-family common areas, and housing developments; homeowner-provided landscaping for single-family homes and duplexes is excluded (§90302.09). Statewide, California's Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO) independently applies to new landscapes of 500+ sq ft and rehabilitated landscapes of 2,500+ sq ft that need a permit. Day-to-day water delivery and any drought surcharges in the Valley are set by the Imperial Irrigation District (IID), which supplies Colorado River water, not by the county code.