Hemet, CA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Unlike many cities that rely on a regional district, the City of Hemet Water Department supplies water to its roughly 5.25-square-mile service area entirely from local groundwater, pumped by nine city-owned wells in the Hemet groundwater basin (with emergency exchange agreements with EMWD and Lake Hemet MWD). Because it is its own retailer, Hemet adopted a Water Conservation Plan by ordinance (ORD-2022-1997) on April 12, 2022, with Level 2 conservation actions effective June 10, 2022, targeting reduced demand consistent with State Water Resources Control Board emergency regulations. Under Hemet Municipal Code Sec. 82-133, landscape watering with potable water is prohibited between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. (except to establish new landscape or briefly adjust a system); customers may not let water leak or run off any property; no water may run off landscaped areas; hosing down driveways and hard surfaces is prohibited except for health or sanitary reasons; lawns and vegetated areas may not be watered with an unattended hose lacking a shutoff; and water may not run while washing vehicles. Note that properties outside the City Water Department's service area may instead be served by Eastern Municipal Water District or Lake Hemet MWD, whose own day-of-week schedules apply. State law (SWRCB) sets the floor; Hemet's ordinance applies these rules locally to its own customers.