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

Municipal Code Section 16.504.11(E), "Recycled water," governs irrigation design directly: installations must "allow for the current and future use of recycled water," any recycled-water irrigation system must be "designed and operated in accordance with all applicable local and state laws," and landscapes using recycled water are classified as special landscape areas whose ET adjustment factor "shall not exceed 1.0." The code's definitions section defines a special landscape area as one "dedicated solely to edible plants, recreational areas, areas irrigated with recycled water, or water features using recycled water," and separately defines recycled water as "water treated or recycled wastewater of a quality suitable for nonpotable uses such as landscape irrigation and water features," noting it "is not intended for human consumption." Section 16.504.09 folds recycled water into the permit paperwork: the landscape design plan must "identify areas irrigated with recycled water," the irrigation design plan must show "recycled water irrigation systems," and decorative water features must draw on recycled water "where available" as their source.

Outside the landscape chapter, Section 11.54.030 separately bans, as water waste, "the use of potable water for construction, compaction, dust control, street or parking lot sweeping, or building wash down where nonpotable or recycled water is available in sufficient quantities." That prohibition sits alongside other water-waste bans, including hosing down driveways and irrigating within 48 hours of rain, all enforced under the same chapter.