New Rules for Landscaping with MWELO

Thanks to a shifting climate, things are quickly changing in parched California. In recent years, state officials and agencies from the governor on down have been rolling out campaigns encouraging water conservation. Hopefully, homeowners won’t see raindrops and assume that the matter is resolved.

After calculating water requirements and adjusting the irrigation system, water use in this Los Angeles garden dropped by more than 30 percent. Photo: Paula Henson

The Model Water Efficiency Landscape Ordinance (MWELO), administered by the California Department of Water Resources, was created in 1992, updated in 2009, and again in late 2015. The ordinance is specifically directed at landscaping and includes things like incorporating compost and mulch, rehabilitating compacted soil, limiting turf, and using efficient irrigation practices. By default, local water agencies and municipalities throughout the state must adopt MWELO or create a more stringent version of the ordinance and report annually on its implementation.

As landscapers (designers, architects, contractors, etc.) we have a responsibility to ensur...