Riverside County, CA Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Recycled water ETo cap
- 70% (0.70 ETo)
- Potable water ETo cap
- 50% (0.50 ETo)
- Triggers rule
- Discretionary permit + landscape
- Enforcing office
- County Planning Director
- Applies to
- Unincorporated area only
Summary
Riverside County landscape rules push recycled water: permitted new and rehabbed landscapes may use up to 70% of reference evapotranspiration when serviced entirely by recycled water, versus only 50% on potable water.
To assure the attainment of water efficient landscape goals by requiring that landscapes serviced entirely by recycled water not exceed a maximum water demand of seventy (70) percent or 0.70 of its reference evapotranspiration (ETo)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 84 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Under the Water Efficient Landscape Requirements ordinance, any new or rehabilitated landscape needing a discretionary permit, commercial and industrial projects, plus residential projects of 2,500+ square feet, must submit a water budget calculation. Projects served entirely by recycled water get a looser cap, 70% of reference evapotranspiration (ETo), versus 50% ETo for potable-water landscapes. The planning director's landscape documentation package requires disclosing water supply source, and where a local water purveyor makes recycled water available, planting and irrigation plans must use it for irrigation and decorative water features. This governs unincorporated county land only; Riverside, Temecula, Palm Springs and the county's other 25 cities administer their own landscape codes.
Violations & Fines
Planning director rejects landscape documentation packages that fail the water budget calculation; no building permit issues, and no certificate of occupancy or final inspection clears without an approved completion certificate showing compliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Must every Riverside County project use recycled water?
Does this apply inside the City of Riverside?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Riverside County
California rules heatmap·Compare Riverside County to another location·View the California water use rules overview
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