Rohnert Park, CA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

05, Water Waste and Water Shortage Contingency Plan, sets Rohnert Park's year-round irrigation and conservation rules, applying to every person, customer and property the city serves. 020 lists prohibited nonessential water uses, including washing sidewalks, driveways, parking lots and other hard surfaces by direct hosing (except to clear a safety hazard or dangerous spill), letting a plumbing leak run more than 72 hours after discovery or city notice, washing cars or boats with a hose lacking a shutoff nozzle, non-recycling decorative fountains, and new non-recirculating car wash or industrial laundry systems.

Subsection C specifically bars 'irrigation in a manner or to an extent which allows excessive runoff of water or unreasonable over-spray of the areas being watered,' the core irrigation-waste standard that applies to every customer's landscape watering, whether by hose, sprinkler or drip system. 030 requires the city to maintain a water shortage contingency plan, prepared and updated by the city engineer and reviewed at least every five years alongside the city's urban water management plan, spelling out voluntary and mandatory drought-response actions consistent with state and local rules. 050, showing a genuine emergency or hardship; a denial can be appealed to the city council within 15 calendar days.