Section 969 - [Operative 1/1/2025] Standard for outdoor irrigation of landscape areas with dedicated irrigation meters or equivalent technology in connection with commercial, industrial, and institutional (CII) water use(a)(1) Through June 30, 2028, an urban retail water supplier's budget for commercial, industrial, and institutional landscapes with dedicated irrigation meters (SDIM) shall be the supplier's actual deliveries associated with landscape irrigation reported to the Board pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 116530.(2) Beginning July 1, 2028, and through June 30, 2035, the standard for CII landscapes with DIMs (SDIM) shall be a landscape efficiency factor of 0.80.(3) Beginning July 1, 2035, and through June 30, 2040, the standard for CII landscapes with DIMs (SDIM) shall be a landscape efficiency factor of 0.63.(4) Beginning July 1, 2040, the standard for CII landscapes with DIMs (SDIM) shall be a landscape efficiency factor of 0.45.(5) For CII landscapes with DIMs that are special landscape areas, the standard (SDIM SLA) shall be a landscape efficiency factor of 1.0. The SDIM SLA shall be applied to CII landscapes with DIMs that are special landscape areas as defined in section 491 as well as CII landscapes with DIMs that are any of the following: (A) Slopes designed and constructed with live vegetation as an integral component of stability;(B) Ponds or lakes receiving supplemental water for purposes of sustaining wildlife, recreation, or other public benefit, excluding water reported to the Board supporting a variance for ponds and lakes for sustaining wildlife required to be maintained by regulation or local ordinance;(C) Plant collections, botanical gardens, and arboretums;(D) Public swimming pools and similar recreational water features;(E) Cemeteries built before 2015; and(F) Landscapes irrigated with recycled water.(6) The standard for newly constructed CII landscapes with DIMs shall be a landscape efficiency factor of 0.45.(b)(1) Beginning July 1, 2028, an urban retail water supplier shall calculate its budget for commercial, industrial, and institutional landscapes with dedicated irrigation meters (CIIDIM), in gallons, by multiplying the applicable standard (SDIM) described in subdivision (a) by the measured total square footage of the irrigated area of CII landscapes with DIMs (DIM LA), by net reference evapotranspiration (Net ET0), and by a unit conversion factor of 0.62. This formula is expressed mathematically as follows: Click here to view image
(2) No later than July 1, 2028, and periodically thereafter, a supplier shall quantify the measured total square footage of the irrigated area of CII landscapes with DIMs (DIM LA) and describe and substantiate how that area was quantified. Annual updates shall include the square footage of large landscapes that have had DIMs installed in accordance with section 973.(3) A supplier may, for each reporting year, use alternative data sources for reference evapotranspiration and effective precipitation if the supplier demonstrates to the Department, in coordination with the Board, that the data are equivalent, or superior, in quality and accuracy to the data provided by the Department. The alternative data shall be reported pursuant to section 975.(c)(1) Notwithstanding subdivision (b)(1), if an urban retail water supplier delivers water to commercial, industrial, and institutional landscapes with dedicated irrigation meters that are special landscape areas, the supplier may calculate its budget for CII landscapes with DIMs as follows: Subtract the square footage of CII landscapes with DIMs that are special landscape areas (DIM SLA) from the total area of CII landscapes with DIMs (DIM LA). Then multiply the result by the applicable standard for CII landscapes with DIMs (SDIM) described in subdivision (a). Add that value to the product of the standard for CII landscapes with DIMs that are special landscape areas (SDIM SLA) described in subdivision (a)(5) and the square footage of CII landscapes with DIMs that are special landscape areas (DIM SLA). Then, multiply that sum by net reference evapotranspiration (Net ET0) and by a unit conversion factor of 0.62. This formula is expressed mathematically as follows: Click here to view image
(2) In order to calculate the budget pursuant to this subdivision, a supplier may demonstrate to the Department, in coordination with the Board, that the landscape areas meet the definition specified in subdivision (a)(5). Special landscape area data shall be reported pursuant to section 975, and, unless updated pursuant to this paragraph, approved data may be included for up to five years.(d)(1) Beginning July 1, 2028, an urban retail water supplier may add to its budget for commercial, industrial, and institutional landscapes with dedicated irrigation meters (CIIDIM) calculated pursuant to (b)(1) or (c)(1) the volume of water associated with CII landscapes with DIMs that are newly constructed landscapes. The budget for CII landscapes with DIMs that are newly constructed landscapes (CDIM, new), in gallons, is calculated by multiplying the standard (SDIM-new) described in subdivision (a)(6) by the square footage of newly constructed CII landscapes with DIMs (DIM LAnew), by net reference evapotranspiration (Net ET0), and by a unit conversion factor of 0.62. This formula is expressed mathematically as follows: Click here to view image
(2) The existence of newly constructed CII landscapes with DIMs shall be demonstrated by using: (A) Data from annual reporting required by section 495(b)(6), provided the report has disaggregated newly constructed CII landscapes with DIMs from the total landscape area reported,(B) On the ground measurements of newly constructed CII landscapes with DIMs, or(C) Measurements of newly constructed CII landscapes with DIMs collected using accurate remote sensing methods.(e)(1) An urban retail water supplier may annually, in calculating its urban water use objective, include budgets for variances for water use on commercial, industrial, and institutional landscapes with dedicated irrigation meters, if the supplier submits supporting information meeting the criteria described in section 968(j), and, for the variances identified in (2)(A) and (2)(B), the associated water use meets the applicable criteria specified in section 968(f)(1)(C) or section 968(g)(5)(B).(2) Variances may be requested for water use associated with any of the following: (A) Responding to emergency events, not including drought(B) Irrigating landscapes with recycled water containing high levels of TDS(C) Supplementing ponds and lakes to sustain wildlife as required by existing regulations or local ordinances(D) Irrigating existing trees on CII landscapes with DIMs.(f) Variances available pursuant to subdivision (e) shall be calculated as follows: (1) A variance for water used to respond to a state or local emergency, not including a drought, shall be calculated in the manner described in section 968(g)(4).(2) A variance for water used for landscapes irrigated with recycled water containing high levels of TDS shall be calculated in the manner described in section 968(g)(5).(3) A variance for water used to supplement ponds and lakes to sustain wildlife as required by existing regulations or local ordinances shall be calculated in the manner described in section 968(g)(6).(4)(A) Beginning July 1, 2040, a supplier may include a variance for water use associated with the irrigation of existing trees on CII landscapes with DIMs. The variance (VCII-trees) for water used to irrigate existing trees on CII landscapes with DIMs, in gallons, shall be calculated by multiplying the square footage of existing trees (ACII-trees) by 0.18, by net reference evapotranspiration (Net ET0), and by a unit conversion factor of 0.62. This formula is expressed mathematically as follows: Click here to view image
(B) The square footage of existing trees on CII landscapes with DIMs (ACII-trees) shall be the square footage of existing tree canopy coverage within the square footage of CII landscapes with DIMs calculated pursuant to subdivision (b)(2). A supplier must describe and substantiate how the square footage of existing tree canopy was quantified.(C) A supplier shall only be eligible for this variance if the conditions described in section 968(g)(7)(C) are met for existing trees on CII landscapes with DIMs, except that the supplier must substantiate that meeting its water use objective pursuant to section 966 would require adhering to the outdoor standard identified in section 969(a)(3) and that meeting the budget for efficient outdoor use on CII landscapes with DIMs would unavoidably and adversely affect tree health. The analysis must also demonstrate that the supplier cannot meet its water use objective pursuant to section 966 by first taking, incentivizing, or causing other feasible actions, such as the conversion of high-water use landscapes to climate-ready landscapes.(g)(1) An urban retail water supplier may annually, in calculating its urban water use objective, include budgets for temporary provisions for water use on commercial, industrial, and institutional landscapes with dedicated irrigation meters if the supplier submits supporting information meeting the criteria described in section 968(j).(2) Temporary provisions may be requested for water use associated with any of the following: (A) Planting new, climate-ready trees(B) Establishing qualifying landscapes, as defined in section 968(i)(2)(A).(h) Temporary provisions available pursuant to subdivision (g) shall be calculated as follows: (1) A temporary provision for the planting of new, climate-ready trees shall be calculated in the manner described in section 968(i)(1).(2) A temporary provision for water used for the establishment of qualifying landscapes that require temporary irrigation shall be calculated in the manner described in section 968(i)(2).Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 23, § 969
Note: Authority cited: Sections 1058 and 10609.2, Water Code. Reference: Article X, Section 2, California Constitution; Section 51201, Government Code; and Sections 102, 104, 105, 350, 1122, 1123, 1124, 1846, 1846.5, 10608.12, 10609.2, 10609.8 and 10609.9, Water Code.
1. New section filed 9-30-2024; operative 1/1/2025 (Register 2024, No. 40).