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1. Are rain barrels legal in California? Yes. Here is when you need a permitYes. State law says you do not need a water right to use rainwater from your roof. Under the state plumbing code, a barrel or tank up to 5,000 gallons for drip or hose watering needs no permit if it sits on the ground, has no pump and is not hooked to tap water.Rain and storage · Oct 18, 2026Listen
2. Well water testing in Sonoma County: what to test and how oftenTest for bacteria twice a year and after any flood. Test nitrate and minerals, including arsenic and manganese, every five years. No agency regulates private well water, so testing is up to you. About 1 in 3 Sonoma County domestic wells on record sits in an area the state rates high risk.Wells and groundwater · Oct 18, 2026Listen
3. Where Sonoma County tap water comes from, and who gets itIf your city or district buys from Sonoma Water, your tap water starts in the Russian River. Wells beside the river draw it from the gravel below, it gets chlorine and a pH boost, and pipes carry it to your city. In 2020, Santa Rosa bought about a third of it. On a private well? This page is not about your water.Tap water and supply · Oct 18, 2026Listen
4. How much rain Sonoma County gets, town by town and month by monthSanta Rosa gets about 30 to 34 inches in an average year, depending on the gauge and the years counted. Petaluma gets about 26 and Healdsburg about 43. Almost all of it falls from November to March.Rain and storage · Oct 18, 2026Listen
5. How the Russian River works: dams, minimum flows and floodsTwo dams store winter rain and release it in summer. Sonoma Water draws the water from wells beside the river for over 600,000 people. The state sets how much must stay in the river.Rivers and pollution · Oct 18, 2026Listen
6. Sonoma County groundwater: who manages it, the well fee, and how the basins are doingThree local agencies manage groundwater in the Sonoma Valley, Petaluma Valley and Santa Rosa Plain basins. Each has a state-approved plan to bring its basin into balance by 2042. If your well is in one of them, you pay a yearly fee on your property tax bill.Policy and rules · Oct 18, 2026Listen
7. Sink it or shed it? When to keep rain on your land and when to drain itMost properties need both. Sink clean water where the soil can take it and nothing will be harmed. Shed water, slowly and safely, where soaking it in would threaten a foundation, a slope, a septic system or a neighbor. The craft is deciding which water goes where.Stormwater and drainage · Oct 18, 2026Listen
8. Swales: what they do, how to build one, and when not toA swale is a shallow ditch that slows rainwater. Dug level across a slope, it holds water so it soaks in. Built with a gentle fall, it carries water away slowly. Both work only in the right place, and both need a planned overflow. Start by watching your slope in the next storm.Stormwater and drainage · Oct 18, 2026Listen
9. Lawns in Sonoma County: how much water they take, how to keep one, and what to grow insteadKeep grass where you use it, water it deeply and less often, and keep chemicals out of the creek. A green 1,000 square foot lawn takes about 11,000 gallons over a Sonoma County summer. Where nobody walks, native plants, clover or a meadow do the job with less water.Saving water · Oct 18, 2026Listen
10. El Niño and Sonoma County water: the river, the reservoirs and your rainNOAA says a strong to very strong El Niño is likely this winter, which tilts California toward a wet one. On the Russian River, strong El Niño winters brought a major flood at Guerneville in 3 of 9 cases since 1951, about twice the usual rate, but the worst floods came in other winters. Get ready for high water and plan to keep some of the rain.Rivers and pollution · Oct 18, 2026Listen
11. Mud in the creek: how fine sediment can hurt salmon eggs, and what Sonoma County landowners can doFine sediment can fill the gravel where salmon bury their eggs and smother them. The mechanism comes from state and Washington research. In the Russian River's four coho focus creeks, NOAA lists low flow as a top limit in all four and sediment as an egg-stage limit in Willow Creek. What to do: check where your driveway or ranch road drains, and call Sonoma RCD at 707-569-1448.Rivers and pollution · Oct 18, 2026Listen
12. No power, no water: how a Sonoma County well owner gets ready for an outageA home well pump needs electricity, so an outage can stop your water. Set aside at least 1 gallon per person per day for 3 days, and Sonoma County asks for a 7 day home kit (28 gallons for a family of four). Keep generator fuel at least 50 feet from the well, and test the water if floodwater reached it.Wells and groundwater · Oct 18, 2026Listen
13. Ponds in Sonoma County: permits, water rights, wildlife and swimming pondsOften, yes. In unincorporated Sonoma County, digging more than 50 cubic yards, or more than 3 feet deep, needs a grading permit. A pond that takes water from a creek or stream usually needs a state water right, and work in a creek bed needs notice to Fish and Wildlife first. From April to October, open water in Santa Rosa loses about 2.7 feet more to evaporation than rain puts back.Rain and storage · Oct 18, 2026Listen
14. How to stop erosion on a slope before the winter rains: a Sonoma County guideLast rain season, almost all of Santa Rosa's rain fell from October to April. Before the storms, cover bare soil with 2 inches of straw or wood chips. Lay wattles, long tubes of straw, level across the slope. Protect your downspouts. Start with the slope calculator below.Stormwater and drainage · Oct 18, 2026Listen
15. Russian River mouth: Sonoma Water seeks a five-year seal authorization, comments due November 16Sonoma Water has asked NOAA Fisheries for a five-year authorization (2027 to 2032) covering seals that may be disturbed when it digs open the sandbar at the Russian River mouth. NOAA has not decided. Anyone can send comments until November 16, 2026.News · Oct 17, 2026Listen
16. State approves Russian River bacteria plan; septic rules will change once it takes effectOn August 18, 2026 the State Water Resources Control Board approved a plan to reduce bacteria in the Russian River watershed. It bans discharges of human and domestic animal fecal waste to the watershed's waters and replaces the region's own septic policy with the statewide one. It is not in effect yet, and no effective date is set.News · Oct 16, 2026Listen
17. Matanzas Creek Dam: final federal plan is out, review open to November 14The U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service has published the final plan to rehabilitate Matanzas Creek Dam in Santa Rosa and found no significant environmental impact. The documents are open for 30 days, October 15 to November 14, 2026, and no action to carry out the plan will be taken before then.News · Oct 15, 2026Listen
18. Sonoma Water asks the state to lower Russian River minimum flows for 2027Sonoma Water has asked the State Water Board to lower the Russian River's minimum flows in Normal years starting May 1, 2027. This is a proposal, and the documents we read show no decision yet.News · Oct 12, 2026Listen
19. Laundry to landscape in Sonoma CountyYou can send washing machine water to your plants. The state says no permit. Permit Sonoma says a plumbing permit. Call (707) 565-1900 before you dig.Graywater and reuse · Oct 11, 2026Listen
20. Water rebates and programs in Sonoma CountyTen water utilities in Sonoma and Marin work together as the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership. Programs and amounts change, so check yours before you buy.Saving water · Oct 11, 2026Listen
21. Only rain down the storm drainStorm drains carry water straight to the nearest creek. It is not treated. Only rain should go down them.Rivers and pollution · Oct 11, 2026Listen
22. Who makes the water rules in Sonoma CountyState boards set drinking water and pollution rules. The county handles wells, septic and graywater permits. Your own utility handles your tap and your bill.Policy and rules · Oct 11, 2026Listen
23. Grow vegetables with less waterMulch 3 to 4 inches deep, water with drip on a timer, and grow only what your household will eat.Saving water · Oct 11, 2026Listen
24. Slow it, spread it, sink it: keep rain on your landSlow the rain down, spread it out, and let it soak in. The Sonoma Resource Conservation District says this protects your property and refills groundwater.Stormwater and drainage · Oct 11, 2026Listen
25. Can your yard recharge groundwater?Yes, a little. Rain that soaks in stays in the ground. Paving and fast drainage send it away instead.Wells and groundwater · Oct 11, 2026Listen
26. When you need a county permit to change drainageIn unincorporated Sonoma County, a drainage permit is required before any drainage improvement. Grading over 50 cubic yards needs a grading permit.Stormwater and drainage · Oct 11, 2026Listen
27. Drought tolerant plants for Sonoma County yardsChoose plants that fit our wet winters and dry summers. Mostly native plants need little water once they settle in.Saving water · Oct 11, 2026Listen
28. Is your Sonoma County water safe to drink? City, well, tank, creek and rainCity water is disinfected with chlorine, and Sonoma Water and Santa Rosa say they add no fluoride. Wells, tanks, creeks and rain have no one testing them for you. Look up your supplier, then find your source below.Tap water and supply · Oct 11, 2026Listen
29. Water filters: what to buy for city, well and rural waterFor city water, a certified carbon filter takes out chlorine. A pitcher is the cheapest start and an under-sink unit is the better long-term choice. For a well, test first, then match the filter. For germs from a well, tank, creek or rain, add a sediment filter and UV.Tap water and supply · Oct 11, 2026Listen
30. Rural water systems: wells, tanks, pumps and pressureA rural water system gets water legally, stores it, moves it and pressurizes it. In Sonoma County the state sets water rights and Permit Sonoma controls wells. Most homes use a well pump with a pressure tank, or a pump that fills a high tank so gravity does the rest.Wells and groundwater · Oct 11, 2026Listen
31. How big a water storage tank do you need?Multiply what you use in a day by the days you want to cover, then add any fire reserve. A family of four at the US average of 82 gallons each needs about 2,300 gallons for a week. Try your own numbers in the calculator.Rain and storage · Oct 11, 2026Listen

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