Santa Ana, CA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Section 39-99 makes daytime lawn watering a permanent water-waste violation, not a drought-only rule: it 'is effective at all times' regardless of the city's declared shortage level. , though hand-held cans, buckets, and a hand-held hose fitted with a positive self-closing shutoff nozzle are exempt from the hours, as is brief use of an irrigation system to adjust or repair it. The same section layers on related restrictions: irrigation that lets water run off onto a sidewalk, street, alley, or gutter is banned (§ 39-99(c)); outdoor irrigation is banned during and for 48 hours after measurable rainfall (§ 39-99(d)); and any unattended watering device is capped at 15 minutes per valve per day unless it's a low-flow drip, stream rotor, or weather-sensor system (§ 39-99(n)).

Leaks, breaks, or other malfunctions in a customer's plumbing or irrigation system must be fixed within 72 hours unless the city agrees otherwise (§ 39-99(g)). Enforcement runs through § 39-104: a first violation draws a written notice; a second violation within a year of the first carries a $250 fine; a third or later violation within that year is $500 per notice, and the executive director of public works can also install a roughly one-gallon-per-minute flow restrictor or, for a willful violation, disconnect service outright, with each day of noncompliance treated as a separate offense.