Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance

Water Efficient Landscaping
  1. Background
  2. Projects Subject to WELO
  3. Meet WELO Requirements

Background

In order to protect the State’s limited water resources and increase water conservation in landscaping, the State passed Assembly Bill 1881 in 2006. In response to the Bill, the Department of Water Resources adopted the State’s Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO). In 2015, the Ordinance was updated by Governor Jerry Brown to further promote water conservation efforts and increase landscape irrigation efficiency. The MWELO reduces landscape-related water use by promoting water-efficient landscapes, limiting turf, preventing waste water, and incentivizing the use of graywater and recycled water in new construction and rehabilitated projects. More information on the State’s MWELO can be found at the Department of Water Resources’ website.

In order to comply with the State updates, Placer County’s Board of Supervisors adopted its own Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (PDF) (WELO) and updated the Landscape Design Guidelines (PDF) in 2017. WELO provides an efficient and effective route for new construction and remodeled or rehabilitated projects.

Additional Resources

Calculations & Measurements

Compost, Mulch & Soil

  • CalRecycle provides local sources for bulk recycled compost, mulch and sheet mulch materials.

Plants