Regulation on Waste and Unreasonable Water Uses
This page includes documents associated with a permanent regulation that the State Water Board considered adopting in 2018.
View information about the emergency regulation the Board adopted in 2022.
The State Water Board first adopted drought emergency conservation regulations in July 2014. Included in these regulations were prohibitions against certain wasteful water use practices. The Board expanded, updated, extended, and readopted the emergency regulations several times, most recently in February 2017. Governor Brown ended the drought State of Emergency in April 2017. In response, the State Water Board partially repealed the February drought emergency conservation regulations, maintaining urban water supplier reporting requirements and the prohibitions on wasteful water use practices. These remained in place until November 25th, 2017.
As directed by Executive Order B-40-17, the State Water Board is conducting a rulemaking to prohibit wasteful water use practices. This rulemaking is part of a broader framework to make conservation a California Way of Life, a pillar of the California Water Action Plan.
Stay Informed to receive email updates on water conservation regulations or contact us if you have additional questions.
To report water waste, go to SaveWater.CA.Gov or contact your local water supplier, city, or county.
Learn more about saving water and find a local water supplier at SaveOurWater.com.
Local water suppliers may have adopted stricter water conservation measures than the State Water Board, so check with local agencies about their current restrictions.
Documents
February 2018
- Agenda Item, Draft Resolution, and Changes to Proposed Text of Regulation (February 8, 2018)
January 2018
- Notice of 15-day Proposed Regulatory Action (January 31, 2018)
This document explains how to submit comments and includes changes to the proposed text of regulation. - Changes to Proposed Text of Regulation (January 31, 2018)
This document only has changes to proposed text of regulation. It includes line numbers for easy reference. Additional regulation text is indicated by a red underline (underline) and deleted regulation text is indicated by a red strikethrough (strikethrough). There will be an additional 15-day comment period for the revised proposal, with comments accepted until 12:00 noon on February 14, 2018. The State Water Board will consider the proposed regulation at its February 20, 2018 meeting. - Fact Sheet: Revised Proposed Regulation on Wasteful Water Use Practices (January 31, 2018)
- FAQ (January 31, 2018)
November 2017
- Notice of Proposed Regulatory Action (November 2, 2017)
- Proposed Text of Regulation (November 1, 2017) See underlined text starting with Section 963 on page 6. See text starting with Section 963 on page 6. The first section of this document is existing regulatory language that is being moved without changes to a new location as part of code cleanup. New text is in underline as required by the Office of Administrative Law.
- Initial Statement of Reasons (ISoR) (November 8, 2017)
- Economic and Fiscal Analysis (Form 399 and supplement) (November 1, 2017)
- California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Draft Initial Study/Negative Declaration, Analyzing the Impact of Permanently Prohibiting Certain Wasteful Water Use Practices (November 1, 2017)
- FAQ (November 20, 2017)
Rulemaking Process
Meetings and Workshops
- State Water Board Adoption Hearing, February 20, 2018 | Webcast | Video (posted after hearing)
- Notice of Public Workshop and Opportunity for Public Comment on November 21, 2017 | Video (available after workshop) State Water Board public workshop to receive input on Proposed Regulation.
- Public comments, due 12 noon December 26, 2017
- Meeting information. The meeting was webcast.
Stay Informed
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Contacts
For additional information or questions, please contact one of the representatives listed below. Email is preferred. Please be specific regarding your request, whether it is an interview request, speaker request, or question. Thank you.
- Edward Ortiz
Office of Public Affairs
(916) 917-4039
Edward.Ortiz@Waterboards.ca.gov
- Charlotte Ely
(916) 319-8564
Charlotte.Ely@waterboards.ca.gov
