The DWA Board of Directors approved a non-functional turf ordinance (Ordinance 80) after a public hearing at its meeting on August 5, 2025. The ordinance is designed to address a statewide ban on the use of potable (drinking) water to irrigate non-functional turf (grass) at certain types of properties.
The ordinance was approved in response to Assembly Bill 1572 (AB 1572), which passed in 2023. AB 1572 requires public water systems, like DWA, to revise their regulations, ordinances or policies to include the requirements of the law by January 1, 2027. DWA is enacting its ordinance early to give customers more time and guidance before compliance is required.
Non-functional turf is grass that is purely ornamental in nature and that is not used for recreation or community purposes. Under Ordinance 80, watering non-functional turf with potable water will be considered a wasteful use of water on:
- State and local government properties
- Commercial, industrial, and institutional properties
- HOA common areas, mobile home parks, apartments, and other common interest developments
The ban does not apply to single-family homes, recreational spaces like parks and sports fields, or areas watered with recycled water. Examples of non-functional turf include turf in medians, around office buildings, or parking lots.
AB 1572 is part of the state’s broader effort to conserve water and promote native landscaping as California faces increasingly extreme weather unpredictably shifting between drought and wet years.
For more information, including self-certification and compliance deadlines, go to www.dwa.org/nft. Click here to read DWA’s Ordinance 80.