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

Outdoor water use in unincorporated Calaveras County is governed mainly by the water purveyor, most often the Calaveras County Water District (CCWD), plus statewide rules from the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). CCWD maintains a staged Water Shortage Contingency Plan. In the voluntary Advisory stage, customers are asked to avoid watering during the hottest part of the day. Under mandatory Stage 2 (Alert, 20% reduction), irrigation is prohibited between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and customers must set run-times to avoid runoff. Stage 3 limits landscape irrigation to three days per week, Stage 4 to two days per week, Stage 5 to one day per week, and the most severe Emergency stage prohibits all landscape irrigation. Across all stages, CCWD permanently prohibits outdoor irrigation during and within 48 hours after measurable rainfall. These mirror SWRCB statewide prohibitions on wasteful uses, such as hosing down driveways and sidewalks and letting irrigation water run into the gutter. The exact stage in force changes with drought conditions, so customers should confirm the current stage with CCWD. Residents on other small systems (for example Union Public Utility District or Utica Water and Power Authority) follow that provider's parallel conservation rules under the shared Calaveras Conserves program.