Santee, CA Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)

Section 13.36.030 defines recycled water as treated or recycled waste water of a quality suitable for nonpotable uses such as landscape irrigation and water features, expressly not intended for human consumption. This chapter, the City's Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance, applies to new construction landscapes and to rehabilitated landscapes of 2,500 square feet or more under Section 13.36.020, and requires the project applicant to submit a landscape documentation package, including a water efficient landscape worksheet, soil management report, landscape design plan and irrigation design plan, to the City for review under Section 13.36.040(B).

The City collaborates with the local water purveyors serving Santee to define each entity's specific responsibilities under Section 13.36.040(A), and a copy of the approved certificate of completion for a finished project must also go to the local water purveyor. Uncapping the ET adjustment factor at 1.0 for recycled-water special landscape areas, rather than the lower factor used for potable-water turf, lets a landscape irrigated with recycled water use more water within its maximum applied water allowance calculation. The chapter also bars water waste from irrigation runoff under Section 13.36.080 and requires all landscape and irrigation design to meet the City's current municipal stormwater permit from the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board under Section 13.36.070(B).