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

Most of unincorporated Trinity County is served by private wells, springs, and small mutual or community water systems rather than a single large urban utility, so there is no countywide watering-day calendar. The county's main water rule is the Trinity County Water Quality Control Ordinance, Code Chapter 8.60 (Ord. 1072, 1985), which prohibits any discharge, use, or disposal of a polluting substance that produces a 'detectable discharge of polluting substances into the waters of the state' (§ 8.60.060), enacted under California Water Code § 13002 and coordinated with the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (§ 8.60.030). For parcel divisions, the Critical Water Resource Overlay Zone (Code Ch. 17.29A) can require proof of water availability—such as a well or spring producing at least 1.5 gallons per minute year-round (§ 17.29A.030). Statewide, the State Water Resources Control Board enforces permanent prohibitions on wasteful water use—such as hosing down hardscapes or watering that causes runoff onto pavement—and the 'Making Conservation a Way of Life' framework, though its urban-supplier budgets largely do not reach Trinity's small rural systems. During declared droughts, local systems may impose their own restrictions.