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

Tustin's Water Management Plan in Chapter 10 of the Municipal Code sets six escalating drought levels, from Level 1 Water Watch through Level 6 Extreme Water Emergency, each adding stricter limits on lawn watering days, irrigation hours and appliance run-times under Sections 4953 and 4954. Every one of those levels repeats the same line: the restrictions apply "except when reclaimed or recycled water is used," so a customer irrigating with purple-pipe recycled water is not bound by the Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday schedule, the 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daytime ban, or the per-station minute limits that apply to potable water.

Section 4953(H) carries the same logic into a specific fixture: an ornamental fountain is banned outright unless it internally recycles the water it uses, meaning a recirculating fountain is fine while a straight-through potable fountain is not. The City Manager designates Enforcement Officers under Section 4952 who issue administrative citations for potable-water violations through the procedures in Part 6 of Chapter 1, Article 1. Because recycled water carries no restriction to violate, enforcement activity under this chapter runs against potable-water use, not recycled-water customers; the fine schedule in Section 4956 climbs from $100 to $200 to $500 within a rolling one-year window, and a fifth violation within two years lets the City install a flow-restricting device for at least 48 hours, with a sixth cutting water service for at least 24 hours. Any customer may appeal a citation, or the underlying conservation-level declaration, to the City Council within 10 calendar days under Section 4958.