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

Water Use Criteria. All landscapes shall comply with the following water use criteria:1.The maximum amount of water that can be applied per year to any landscape shall average no greater than thirty (30) inches of supplemental water.2.The planted area shall balance the water demands of different plant species to create an overall landscape which requires a moderate amount of water. For design purposes, planting area shall be defined as low use, medium use, or high use areas (refer to Section 90302.19 for a list of low, medium and high use plants). Water use values (Table I) below reflect the relative water use of each type of planting area. To check a landscape design for compliance, multiply the water use value by its respective planting area. Example: Assume a two-acre landscape plan consists of twenty percent (20%) high use plants (turf), fifty percent (50%) medium use plants, and thirty percent (30%) low use plants.

20% (2 acres) 0.40 acres × 1.6 = 0.64 50% (2 acres) 1.0 acres × 1.0 = 1.00 30% (2 acres) 0.60 acres × 0.4 = 0.24