WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
State form, Appendix A, filled from your project

Water Efficient Landscape Worksheet, filled in from your project

Describe the project once: city, landscape type, watering zones and special landscape areas. You get the state worksheet as a filled PDF, with the water allowance, the use of every zone, the climate figure and the two totals side by side, then the arithmetic and the sources. $39 once, the download link by email, one free regeneration with corrected entries and a 30-day money-back.

Checked against the adopted state text on October 4, 2026. The worksheet is Appendix A since January 2, 2025; it was Appendix B in the 2015 text.

  1. 1 Applicant and projectNeeded

    The header of the state form. The project applicant is the person or company submitting the landscape documentation, or their designee.

    Prepared by prints on the calculation page only; the state form has no such field.

  2. 2 Landscape type and projectNeeded

    One worksheet covers one landscape type. A mixed-use project with both residential and non-residential regular areas needs one worksheet for each type.

    Landscape type

    Project kind and the permit answer only choose which state thresholds the PDF quotes next to your landscape area. The worksheet never says whether the ordinance applies.

  3. 3 CityNeeded

    The climate figure, ETo, comes from the state table in Appendix C: 676 California cities, the annual value printed to one decimal.

  4. 4 Watering zonesNeeded

    One row per zone of the landscape design plan, up to 12, the rows the state form prints. Count irrigated area only, and leave areas that get no water off the worksheet.

    What the ordinance leaves out of the landscape area

    The irrigated planting area does not include footprints of buildings or structures, sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, decks, patios, gravel or stone walks, other pervious or non-pervious hardscapes, and other non-irrigated areas designated for non-development (e.g., open spaces and existing native vegetation). §490.2(a)(41)

    HZ-1Not filled in yet

    (7) Identification of hydrozone areas shall be designated by number, letter, or other designation as identified on the landscape design plan. Designate the areas irrigated by each valve and assign a number to each valve using the Water Efficient Landscape Worksheet (see Appendix A). §493.2.2(c)(7) Type the numbers of the valves that water this zone, unless the label already carries them. They print in column A after the label.

    Irrigation (column C)

    Pick the water use first and the form shows the range the ordinance allows. The plant factor is never filled in for you: enter the value from your plant list.

    Overhead or drip?

    (59) "overhead irrigation systems" means irrigation systems that deliver water through the air. §490.2(a)(59)

    (17) "drip irrigation" means any non-spray low volume irrigation system utilizing emission devices where water is slowly applied at or below the soil surface and at or near the root zone of plants. Drip irrigation emission devices have a manufacturer specification for flow rate measured in gallons per hour. §490.2(a)(17)

  5. 5 Special landscape areasNone

    The "SLA -" rows of the form, counted at 1.0 in both totals, up to 3. An area entered here stays out of the zone rows, so it is counted once. Leave this step empty when the project has none.

    What counts as a special landscape area

    (79) "Special Landscape Area" (SLA) means an irrigated area that may be all or part of the landscape project and is permanently and solely dedicated to edible plants such as orchards and vegetable gardens, recreational areas, areas irrigated with recycled water, or water features using recycled water. §490.2(a)(79)

    (C) Landscape areas using recycled water are considered Special Landscape Areas, as defined in Section 490.2(a)(79). §490.1(a)(3)(C) A landscape fully on recycled water goes in these rows.

  6. 6 Check and pay

    The preview appears once every field reads cleanly. Still needed:

    $39one payment, PDF right after

    Payment on Stripe's secure page, where you also enter the email for the download link. Cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Card numbers never reach this site. 30-day money-back and one free regeneration with corrected entries within 30 days. No account, no subscription. See a sample worksheet.

Who it is for

Landscape designers, contractors and owner-builders who take the performance path of the state ordinance and need the worksheet for the Landscape Documentation Package. The numbers come from your plan: plant factors, areas and irrigation types are yours, the formula and the constants are the ordinance's, and the climate figure is the state table's. Testing a design first? The free water budget calculator runs the same arithmetic in the browser.

Questions before you pay

Which appendix is the worksheet in now?

Appendix A of the state Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance, in the text operative since January 2, 2025, under section 493.3. In the 2015 text it was Appendix B, which now holds the sample certificate of completion. Appendix C is the climate table. The PDF prints the 2025 form only.

Will my city take the state form?

A city or county can adopt the state model or its own ordinance, and its own worksheet with it. Ask the agency reviewing the project which form it takes before you order. If it wants a different layout, the 30-day money-back covers the order.

Which plant factor do I enter?

The value your plant list supports, usually from WUCOLS, the state plant water use list. The ordinance sets the ranges: less than 0.1 for very low water use plants, 0.1 to 0.3 low, 0.4 to 0.6 moderate, 0.7 to 1.0 high (section 493.3(b)(1)). Water features use the high range and temporarily irrigated areas the low range. The form shows the range next to each zone and never fills the number in.

What if the project has more than 12 zones?

This version fills one sheet: 12 zone rows and 3 rows for special landscape areas, the rows the state form prints. Appendix A says additional rows or multiple sheets should be used past 12 zones. For a larger project, write to support@wateringtimes.com before ordering.

Is a swimming pool a special landscape area?

Not at a single-family home. The ordinance calls the pool of a single-family residential landscape a water feature, and water features use the high water use plant factor (sections 490.2(a)(76) and 493.3(b)(2)). Enter the pool surface as a zone of the kind water feature. A water feature that uses recycled water is a special landscape area.

Does one worksheet cover a mixed-use project?

One worksheet covers one landscape type, because the allowance formula takes one factor for the regular landscape area: 0.55 for residential, 0.45 for non-residential. A project with both buys one worksheet per type.

Can I fix a mistake after paying?

Yes, once. For 30 days after purchase the download page takes corrected entries and regenerates the PDF at no charge. The 30-day money-back covers the rest.

Sources

Related on WateringTimes

Free water budget calculatorThe two budget numbersWhat is EToEdible gardens in a budgetDrip vs sprinklers in a budgetThe prescriptive pathAll calculatorsRefund policy