Palmdale, CA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

unless weather conditions prevent it, and if the allowable watering hours set by the local water purveyor differ from the City's window, the stricter of the two controls. Operating the irrigation system outside that normal watering window is allowed only for auditing and system maintenance, and any exception for large projects requires approval from the Director of Public Works, the City Engineer, the Director of Planning, or the local water purveyor. Schedules must otherwise be built on evapotranspiration data, such as California Irrigation Management Information System weather station readings, so that total annual applied water stays at or below the maximum applied water allowance, with automatic controllers programmed for irrigation interval, run time, application rate, root depth, plant type, soil type, slope and shade for each station.

230 backs the watering-hours rule with a companion water waste prohibition: the City prevents water waste from inefficient irrigation by prohibiting runoff from low head drainage, overspray, or similar conditions that let water flow off the target landscape onto adjacent property, nonirrigated areas, walks, roadways, parking lots, or structures, though the restriction eases where the landscape sits next to permeable surfacing or adjacent nonpermeable surfaces drain entirely back into the landscape. 030(A)(3), not just new or rehabilitated projects.