External Links

• CII-LAM-LUCD Informational Webinar (DWR)

  Informational webinar for urban retail water suppliers (URWS) and interested parties on the Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional (CII) ...

Resources

• The Commercial, Industrial, Institutional Dedicated Irrigation Meter (CII-DIM) Standard

  SB 606 and AB 1668, signed in 2018 and referred to as the Long-Term Framework legislation, are intended to make conservation a California wa...

• A Practical Guide to Measuring Landscape Areas with Dedicated Irrigation Meters in CII Sectors

  This guidebook is designed for urban water suppliers or their consultants to support compliance with the State’s Water Use Efficiency Regu...

1. Standard for Outdoor Irrigation of CII Landscapes:
   • Through June 30, 2028, the standard for CII landscapes with Dedicated Irrigation Meters (DIMs) is the supplier’s actual deliveries associated with landscape irrigation.
   • From July 1, 2028, through June 30, 2035, the landscape efficiency factor (LEF) for CII landscapes with DIMs is 0.80.
   • From July 1, 2035, through June 30, 2040, the LEF is 0.63.
   • Beginning July 1, 2040, the LEF is 0.45.
2. Special Landscape Areas (SLA):
   • For CII landscapes that are Special Landscape Areas (e.g., slopes with live vegetation, ponds for wildlife, or public pools), the standard is a landscape efficiency factor of 1.0.
3. Formula for CII Dedicated Irrigation Meters:
   • Beginning July 1, 2028, urban retail water suppliers must calculate the budget for CII landscapes with DIMs using the formula:

CIIDIM=SDIM×DIMLA×NetET0×0.62

Where:

1. • CIIDIM: Budget for CII landscapes with DIMs (in gallons)
   • SDIM: Landscape efficiency factor
   • DIM LA: Measured total square footage of the irrigated area
   • Net ET0: Net reference evapotranspiration
   • 0.62: Unit conversion factor
2. Updates and Reporting:
   • Suppliers must quantify and report the total square footage of irrigated CII landscapes and update the data periodically.
   • Alternative data for reference evapotranspiration and precipitation can be used if it meets or exceeds the quality of the data provided by the Department.
   • For CII landscapes with special landscape areas, a more complex formula is used to account for different landscape types with distinct efficiency factors.

This standard ensures that urban retail water suppliers accurately track and manage water use for outdoor irrigation in commercial, industrial, and institutional landscapes, encouraging efficient water use through detailed reporting and budget calculations.

• 969. 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 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:

CIIDIM = SDIM × DIM LA × Net ET0 × 0.62

(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)(4) 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:

CIIDIM = ((SDIM × (DIM LA – DIM SLA)) + (SDIM SLA ×DIM SLA)) × Net ETO × 0.62

(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:

CIIDIM, new = SDIM-new × DIM LAnew × Net ET0 × 0.62

(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).

The data required for calculating and reporting on Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional (CII) landscapes with Dedicated Irrigation Meters (DIMs) includes the following:

Standard for CII landscapes with DIMs (Landscape Efficiency Factor)

DIM LA (Irrigated Landscape Area)

Net ET0 (Net Reference Evapotranspiration)

Unit Conversion Factor (0.62)

(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:

VCII-trees = ACII-trees × 0.18 × Net ET0 × 0.62

(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).

• 975. Reporting

(a) Each urban retail water supplier shall submit to the Board, no later than January 1, 2024, and by January 1 every year thereafter, the report required by Water Code section 10609.24. The report shall reflect the conditions of the previous state fiscal year, except as specified in subdivision (b).

(b) No later than January 1, 2025, and by January 1 every year thereafter, each urban retail water supplier shall submit to the Board, on a machine-readable form provided by the Board, the supplier’s urban water use objective calculated pursuant to section 966 along with relevant and supporting data.

(3) For the budget for commercial, industrial, and institutional landscapes with Dedicated Irrigation Meters described in section 969:

(A) The volume of water for CII landscapes with DIMs (CIIDIM) calculated pursuant to section 969.

(B) Annual reference evapotranspiration and effective precipitation data provided by the Department, or alternative reference evapotranspiration or effective precipitation data meeting the criteria specified in section 969(b)(3).

(C) The area of CII landscapes with DIMs measured by the supplier and meeting the criteria specified in section 969(b)(1).

(D) Any special landscape area meeting the criteria specified in section 969(c). For CII landscapes with DIMs irrigated with recycled water, the supplier shall, unless otherwise specified, provide information to trace the recycled water network at least once every five years:

(i) The Public Water System Identification (PWSID) number associated with each system delivering recycled water to CII landscapes with DIMs

(ii) Annual Non-Residential Recycled Water demand, as reported to the Board pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 116530. This must be updated annually.

(iii) Annual Non-Residential Non-Potable demand, as reported to the Board pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 116530. This must be updated annually.

(iv) The GeoTracker Global Identification Number used for Volumetric Annual Reporting by each facility producing the recycled water

(v) The PWSID associated with each system producing the recycled water from each facility identified in (iv)

(vi) The square footage of CII landscapes with DIMs irrigated with recycled water. If annually reported to a Regional Water Quality Control Board, the value reported pursuant to this section shall be the same value as annually reported to the Regional Water Quality Control Board

(vii) The Waste Discharge Identification Number (WDID) associated with the land application of recycled water.

(E) Any CII landscape area with DIMs associated with new construction and meeting the criteria specified section 969(d)(2).

(F) Any landscape area associated with a DIM that the Department classified as residential and included in the residential landscape area defined in section 968(b)(2), but that the supplier classifies as CII and has therefore subtracted from residential landscape area.

(G) If the supplier has requested and received approval to include in its objective a budget for the variance for water used to respond to state or local emergency events pursuant to section 969(f)(1), the following information, which must be calculated and updated on an annual basis:

(i) The volume of water associated with the variance

(ii) The required documentation described in section 968(g)(4).

(H) If the supplier has requested and received approval to include in its objective a budget associated with the variance to irrigate landscapes with recycled water containing high levels of TDS pursuant to section 969(f)(2) and relied on the calculation method described in 968(g)(5)(A):

(i) The volume of water associated with the variance (VHTDS) calculated pursuant to section 968(g)(5)(A). This must be calculated and updated on an annual basis.

(ii) The square footage of CII landscapes with DIMs irrigated with recycled water containing high levels of TDS. If reported to a Regional Water Quality Control Board, the value reported pursuant to this section shall be the same value as reported to the Regional Water Quality Control Board.

(iii) The concentration of TDS, in mg/L

(iv) The Public Water System Identification (PWSID) number associated with each system delivering recycled water containing high levels of TDS to CII landscapes with DIMs

(v) Annual metered non-potable non-residential landscape irrigation demand, as reported to the Board pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 116530. This must be updated annually.

(vi) The GeoTracker Global Identification Number used for Volumetric Annual Reporting by each facility producing the recycled water containing high levels of TDS

(vii) The PWSID associated with each system producing the recycled water from each facility identified in (vi)

(viii) The waste discharge identification number (WDID) for the Waste Discharge Requirements associated with the land application of treated recycled water with high levels of TDS

(xi) The permitted concentration of TDS, in mg/L

(x) The permitted volume of applied recycled water, in gallons

(xi) An electronic copy of the applicable salt and nutrient management plan or plans, if any.

(I) If the supplier has requested and received approval to include in its objective a budget associated with the variance to irrigate landscapes with recycled water containing high levels of TDS pursuant to section 969(f)(2) and relied on the calculation method described in section 968(g)(5)(B):

(i) All parameters identified in paragraph (H), except (iii)

(ii) The plant factor

(iii) The leaching requirement

(iv) The salinity of the recycled water

(v) The plant threshold salinity

(J) If the supplier has requested and received approval to include in its objective a budget associated with the variance for water used to sustain wildlife in ponds and lakes pursuant to section 969(f)(3):

(i) The volume of water associated with the variance (Vwildlife), calculated pursuant to section 968(g)(6). This must be calculated and updated annually.

(ii) The area of ponds and lakes, in square feet

(iii) Annual precipitation data provided by the Department or annual precipitation data meeting the criteria in section 968(g)(6)(A).

(K) If the supplier has requested and received approval to include in its objective the budget associated with the variance for water used to irrigate existing trees on CII landscapes with DIMs pursuant to section 969(f)(4):

(i) The volume of water associated with the variance (VCII-trees), calculated pursuant to section 969(f)(4). This must be calculated and updated annually

(ii) The area of existing trees on CII landscapes with DIMs, in square feet.

(L) If the supplier has requested and received approval to include in its objective a budget associated with the temporary provision to plant new, climate-ready trees pursuant to section 969(g)(2):

(i) The volume of water associated with the temporary provision (Prtrees), calculated pursuant to section 968(i)(1). This must be calculated and updated annually.

(ii) The number of newly planted trees.

(M) If the supplier has requested and received approval to include in its objective a budget associated with the temporary provision for qualifying landscapes pursuant to section 969(g)(2):

(i) The volume of water associated with the temporary provision (Prland) calculated pursuant to section 968(i)(2). This must be calculated and updated annually.

(ii) The square footage of qualifying landscapes receiving temporary irrigation.