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

There is no Modoc County ordinance setting day-of-week watering rules or a county-wide irrigation schedule; most rural parcels rely on private wells or small water systems rather than a regulated municipal supplier. Outdoor water-efficiency requirements instead flow from California state law. The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) adopts statewide urban water conservation regulations and prohibitions on wasteful water use (such as runoff onto pavement and watering during/after rain) that apply across California. For new and rehabilitated landscaping, the state Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO), codified at 23 CCR Division 2, Chapter 2.7, sets water-budget and irrigation-efficiency requirements. Modoc County formally ties into MWELO through Section 8.03.130 of its organic-waste (SB 1383) chapter, making the chief building official responsible for MWELO compliance and applying MWELO compost-and-mulch and design requirements to qualifying projects. Under that section, new construction projects with more than 500 square feet of landscape, or rehabilitated landscapes over 2,500 square feet, must comply with the cited MWELO provisions. Outside these state frameworks, the county does not cap how much an individual homeowner may irrigate an existing yard.