Fairfield, CA Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Design duty
- irrigation must allow for recycled water use
- Operating standard
- comply with all applicable local/state law
- ET Adjustment Factor cap
- 1.0 for recycled-water areas
- Decorative features
- must use recycled water where available
- Applies to
- covered new/rehab landscape projects
- Governing section
- City Code § 22A.16
Summary
Fairfield requires covered landscape projects to design irrigation systems that allow for recycled water use under City Code Section 22A.16, and it rewards landscapes that actually use recycled water with a water-budget break: their ET Adjustment Factor cannot exceed 1.0.
(a) The installation of recycled water irrigation systems shall allow for the current and future use of recycled water. (b) All recycled water irrigation systems shall be designed and operated in accordance with all applicable local and State laws. (c) Landscapes using recycled water are considered Special Landscape Areas. The ET Adjustment Factor for new and existing (non-rehabilitated) Special Landscape Areas shall not exceed 1.0.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4962673; v0 updated 2026-02-17).
Full Breakdown
16, part of the Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance, imposes three linked duties on covered projects. First, a new or rehabilitated irrigation system must be designed to allow for current and future recycled water use, even where recycled water is not yet piped to the site. 030. 0 rather than the lower factor applied to potable-water landscapes, effectively giving recycled-water areas the largest water budget the ordinance allows. 8(2)(B) requires recycled water be used as the source for decorative water features where it is available. 2, meaning new landscapes of 500 square feet or more, or rehabilitated landscapes of 2,500 square feet or more, that require a permit, plan check, or design review.
Violations & Fines
A landscape design plan that fails to build in recycled water capacity, or that omits the required Landscape Documentation Package statement of compliance, does not clear plan check and cannot reach a Certificate of Completion under this chapter. Separately, a recycled water system installed or operated outside applicable state and local law exposes the project to the FMU's cross-connection control enforcement, the same safety program the director maintains under Section 22.05.030 to keep recycled water isolated from the potable system.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to actually hook up to recycled water in Fairfield?
Does using recycled water raise my allowed water budget?
Can I use recycled water in a fountain?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fairfield
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