Bakersfield watering schedule 2026

Exceptions to the Bakersfield rules

• City of Bakersfield, hard surface washing: the Stage 2 list prohibits "the use of potable water for washing sidewalks, driveways, buildings, structures, patios, parking lots, or other hard-surfaced areas," and the City's Water Conservation Efforts page, Residents tab, adds the carve-out "Note: Hosing is allowed when health and safety issues are a concern."
• City of Bakersfield, vehicle washing: allowed with potable water where the hose carries a shut-off nozzle. The City prints "Requiring shut-off nozzles on hoses for vehicle washing with potable water" and "Hoses are required to have a nozzle that shuts off automatically when the handle is released."
• City of Bakersfield, rain rule: this is a restriction rather than an exception. "Prohibiting outdoor water use during and 48 hours after a rain event resulting in measurable precipitation." The City prints no threshold amount for measurable precipitation.
• City of Bakersfield, runoff rule applies to every watering method, including the ones other suppliers usually exempt: "Beyond minor splashing of surfaces, sprinkler and drip systems, and hand watering that cause water to flow into gutters and streets or that make large puddles is not allowed." Bakersfield Municipal Code 14.02.010(B) states the same ban: "Outside irrigation in a manner that causes water to flow onto adjacent property, nonirrigated areas, sidewalks, and/or gutters is strictly prohibited."
• City of Bakersfield, NO printed exception exists for drip irrigation, hand watering, hand-held containers, new or replacement plantings, establishment periods, trees, edible plants or vegetable gardens, potted plants, hot weather, or smart irrigation controllers. Those categories are simply absent from the City's Stage 2 list, from Bakersfield Municipal Code Chapter 14.02, and from the Draft 2025 UWMP Table 8-3 Retail demand reduction table. Their absence is a gap in the printed rule, not a stated permission, so residents wanting certainty on any of them should ask the City Water Resources Department at 661-326-3715.
• City of Bakersfield, commercial, industrial and institutional properties are handled separately under Bakersfield Municipal Code 14.02.010(D), which reads that "commercial, industrial, and institutional properties, such as campuses, golf courses, and cemeteries, shall immediately implement water efficiency measures to reduce potable water usage in an amount consistent with the reduction targets of the State Water Resources Control Board as amended from time to time," rather than following an assigned day schedule.
• City of Bakersfield, landscape projects: Bakersfield Municipal Code 14.02.010(E) requires all irrigation and landscaping projects to follow the Model Water Efficient Landscaping Ordinance, California Code of Regulations Title 23 Chapter 2.7, as adopted by the state and pursuant to Chapter 17.61 of the code.
• Cal Water Stage 1, blanket carve-out from Schedule No. 14.1 Section E: the restrictions apply "except where necessary to address an immediate health or safety need, or to comply with a term or condition in a permit issued by a state or federal agency."
• Cal Water Stage 1, the 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. irrigation ban "does not apply to: (1) Landscape irrigation zones that exclusively use drip irrigation systems and/or micro spray irrigation systems." A drip system is defined as non-spray, low-pressure, low volume, with emitters rated in gallons per hour. A micro spray system is defined as low-pressure, low-volume, with emitters that spray, mist, sprinkle or drip, rated in gallons per hour.
• Cal Water Stage 1, the 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ban also does not apply to "(2) Irrigating ornamental landscapes with the use of a hand-held bucket or similar container, with a continuously monitored hose which is fitted with an automatic shut-off nozzle or device attached to it that causes it to cease dispensing water immediately when not it use or monitored, or for the express purpose of adjusting or repairing an irrigation system." The wording "when not it use" is the tariff's own typo.
• Cal Water Stage 1, vehicle washing with a hose is allowed "except where the hose is fitted with a shut-off nozzle or device attached to it that causes it to cease dispensing water immediately when not in use."
• Cal Water Stage 1, water features are allowed "where the water is part of a recirculating system."
• Cal Water Stage 1, rain rule: applying potable water to outdoor landscapes "during and within forty-eight (48) hours after measurable rainfall" is prohibited. Measurable rainfall is defined in the tariff as "any amount of precipitation of more than one-quarter of an inch (0.25")."
• Cal Water Stage 1, leak repair: "All leaks, breaks, or other malfunctions in the customer's plumbing fixtures and/or irrigation system must be repaired within five (5) business days of written notification by Cal Water, unless other arrangements are made with Cal Water."
• Cal Water, special landscape areas and commercial nurseries get a plan-based carve-out from the day limit, but the day limit and that carve-out appear only at Stage 2 and higher in Schedule No. 14.1. Cal Water is at Stage 1 in Bakersfield, so no day limit applies to begin with. Special landscape area is defined as land dedicated solely to edible plants plus parks, sports fields, golf courses and other active play turf.
• Statewide nonfunctional turf rule, future dated rather than in force today. The City's Drought page still describes the State Water Resources Control Board emergency conservation regulation effective June 10, 2022 that banned irrigating non-functional turf at commercial, industrial and institutional properties. That emergency regulation expired by operation of law on June 5, 2024, and the State Water Resources Control Board states that "As of June 5, 2024, there are no current statewide water conservation emergency regulations." The permanent replacement is Water Code Section 10608.14, added by AB 1572 (2023), which phases the prohibition in by property type: properties owned by the Department of General Services and properties owned by local governments, local or regional public agencies and public water systems beginning January 1, 2027; all other institutional properties and all commercial and industrial properties beginning January 1, 2028; homeowners association common areas beginning January 1, 2029; and public property in a disadvantaged community beginning January 1, 2031 or the date a state funding source is made available, whichever is later. Public water systems must revise their regulations, ordinances or policies and communicate the requirements to customers by January 1, 2027. The statute does not prohibit potable water use to the extent necessary to ensure the health of trees and other perennial nonturf plantings or to address an immediate health and safety need, cemeteries are excluded, and residential turf is not covered.

Fines in Bakersfield

1. 1City of Bakersfield, Bakersfield Municipal Code 14.02.035(A)(1), administrative fines, quoted exactly: "Fifty dollars for the first offense, one hundred fifty dollars for the second offense, and two hundred fifty dollars to one thousand dollars for each subsequent offense in a calendar year."
2. 2City of Bakersfield, escalation in plain numbers: 1st offense $50, 2nd offense $150, 3rd and each later offense in the same calendar year $250 to $1,000.
3. 3City of Bakersfield, Bakersfield Municipal Code 14.02.020 adds that "Failure to comply with these regulations may be punishable as an infraction, or misdemeanor pursuant to Bakersfield Municipal Code Section 1.40.010, an administrative citation pursuant to Bakersfield Municipal Code Section 14.02.030, or any other available remedies allowed by law."
4. 4City of Bakersfield, payment, Bakersfield Municipal Code 14.02.030(C): "The fine shall be paid to the city within thirty days from the date of the administrative citation." Paying does not excuse a continuing or repeated violation, and 14.02.030(D) allows the city to collect a past due fine by all available means.
5. 5City of Bakersfield, appeal, Bakersfield Municipal Code 14.02.040: a recipient may appeal by completing a request for hearing form and returning it to the city within thirty days from the citation date, together with an advance deposit of the fine, and 14.02.040(A) states "No appeal hearing to contest an administrative citation shall be held unless the fine has been deposited in advance." The hearing is set not less than fifteen and not more than sixty days after the request is filed, with at least ten calendar days notice.
6. 6City of Bakersfield, hearing officer, Bakersfield Municipal Code 14.02.045: the city manager designates the hearing officer, and 14.02.045(A) states that after considering the testimony and evidence the officer issues a written decision to uphold or dismiss the citation and that "The decision of the hearing officer shall be final." Under 14.02.045(B) the officer may increase or decrease the fine if the citation is upheld, and any increased amount is due within thirty days. Under 14.02.045(C), if the citation is dismissed or the fine reduced, the city refunds the appropriate amount within thirty days.
7. 7City of Bakersfield, court review, Bakersfield Municipal Code 14.02.040(H), quoted exactly: "Any person aggrieved by an administrative decision of a hearing officer on an administrative citation appeal may obtain review of the administrative decision by filing a petition for review with the Kern County Superior Court in accordance with the timelines and provisions set forth in California Government Code Section 53069.4."
8. 8City of Bakersfield, refund, Bakersfield Municipal Code 14.02.035(B): a fine paid under subsection A is refunded if it is determined after a hearing that the person charged was not responsible for the violation or that there was no violation as charged.
9. 9Cal Water Bakersfield, Stage 1, 1st violation: written notice of violation, plus installation of a real-time water measurement device on the customer's service line. Schedule No. 14.1 states "The cost of the device, including installation and on-going operating costs, may be billed to the customer, and nonpayment may result in discontinuation of service."
10. 10Cal Water Bakersfield, Stage 1, 2nd violation: second written notice plus a waste of water penalty of $25.
11. 11Cal Water Bakersfield, Stage 1, 3rd violation: third written notice plus a waste of water penalty of $50.
12. 12Cal Water Bakersfield, Stage 1, 4th violation: fourth written notice plus installation of a flow-restricting device on the service line. The device must be capable of providing the premise with a minimum flow rate of 0.5 gallons per minute, and "The device may only be removed by Cal Water, and only after a minimum three-day period has elapsed."
13. 13Cal Water Bakersfield, egregious violations: after one written notice of egregious violation, a flow-restricting device may be installed. Continued waste after that can lead to discontinuance of water service under Cal Water Rule No. 11.
14. 14Cal Water Bakersfield, flow restrictor removal charge: "$100 during normal business hours, and $150 for the device to be removed outside of normal business hours."
15. 15Cal Water Bakersfield, waiver route: for the 2nd and 3rd violations, Cal Water may "At its sole discretion, waive the waste of water penalty if the customer participates in a water use evaluation provided by Cal Water and agrees to the recommendations provided."
16. 16Cal Water, for reference only, penalties rise with stage in Schedule No. 14.1. The 2nd and 3rd violation amounts are $25 and $50 at Stage 1, $50 and $100 at Stage 2, $100 and $200 at Stage 3, $200 and $400 at Stage 4, $400 and $800 at Stage 5, and $800 and $1,600 at Stage 6. Only the Stage 1 pair applies in Bakersfield right now.

Report water waste

City of Bakersfield water system: the "Report Water Waste" link printed on the City's own Drought page points to the City's service request system at https://www.bakersfieldcity.us/559/Report-a-Service-Request (the site footer now labels the same tool "Report an Issue"). The City of Bakersfield Water Resources Department, 1000 Buena Vista Road, Bakersfield, CA 93311-9735, can be reached at 661-326-3715, open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday except holidays. City main line is 661-326-3000. California Water Service Bakersfield District: Cal Water's Report Leaks and Waste page routes water waste reports to https://report.calwater.com/s/report-waste and leaks to https://report.calwater.com/s/report-leak (live links append ?language=en), and it directs customers to call their local Cal Water Customer Center to report leaks on Cal Water's side of the meter or an emergency such as a damaged fire hydrant, main break, or sinkhole in the street. The Bakersfield District customer center is at 3725 South H Street, Bakersfield, CA 93304, phone (661) 837-7200, which is also the after-hours number, open Monday to Friday 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.