Lakewood, CA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

1 lets the City Council activate the Water Conservation Ordinance by resolution, after a public hearing finding a significant shortage in the potable water supply, and ratchet restrictions up through six defined phases as the shortage worsens. A Voluntary Phase targets up to 10% conservation and only recommends limits. m. m. summer ban. Phase IV (up to 40%) drops summer watering to once every seven days and winter watering to once every fourteen days. Phase V (up to 50%) restricts residential and commercial landscaping to hand-watering or drip irrigation of permanent trees and shrubs only, once every seven days in summer and once every fourteen days in winter.

Every phase exempts handheld buckets, shutoff-nozzle hoses, drip systems delivering two gallons per hour or less, weather-based controllers, and stream rotor sprinklers meeting a 70% efficiency standard, plus reclaimed-water users, commercial nurseries, parks, school grounds, and golf courses at their own separate limits. Non-residential customers using more than 25,000 cubic feet in a billing period must file a written conservation plan with the Director of Water Resources within 60 days of a declared shortage. Customers may apply to the Director of Water Resources for relief from any provision on proof of hardship, with a written decision due within 15 days and a 30-day appeal window to the City Council.