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

Unincorporated Tuolumne County does not impose its own outdoor watering schedule or day-of-week irrigation limits; Title 13 of the County Ordinance Code covers wells, groundwater, and wastewater but not urban water-use restrictions. For most residents, outdoor water rules come from the water purveyor. Tuolumne Utilities District (TUD) serves Sonora, East Sonora, Jamestown, Columbia, Tuolumne, and surrounding areas, and its Water Rules and Regulations include a standing prohibition on wasteful water use; when TUD declares a water-shortage stage, it can impose schedules such as limiting outdoor watering to set days, prohibiting daytime irrigation (for example, requiring irrigation between 7 p.m. and 10 a.m.), and capping run-times per cycle. State law also applies on top of any local rules. The State Water Resources Control Board's temporary statewide drought emergency 'wasteful use' bans expired in 2024, but Assembly Bill 1572 permanently phases in a ban on irrigating non-functional turf with potable water at commercial, industrial, institutional, and HOA common-area sites (not single-family homes), beginning in 2027. The State's longer-term 'Making Conservation a California Way of Life' framework sets efficiency standards that urban water suppliers like TUD must meet. The County's own Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (Chapter 15.28) further requires low-volume irrigation and water-budget compliance for covered new and rehabilitated landscapes, and discourages new planting during a Board-declared drought (Section 15.28.200). Because rules vary by stage and by purveyor, residents should confirm current restrictions with their water provider.