Phone: (831) 384-6131
(Customer Service & 24-hour Emergency)
Hours: Mon-Thu & Every Other Fri 8am–5pm
(Telephone Only ... see Fri Closure Info)

MCWD Landscape Incentive Program

Water Conservation Certification

  1. Home
  2. Water Conservation
  3. Water Conservation Certification

Incentives

Report water waste

report

Receive conservation tips and news directly in your inbox.

subscribe

Documents (PDFs)

Upon change of ownership or use, it must be verified that all properties in the Marina Coast Water District service area are compliant with the District's Water Code.

Procedure to Complete Certification

Because of COVID-19 precautions, Water Conservation Inspections are not presently being conducted in person. As an alternative, it is requested that the Seller or the Seller's Representative conduct a self-survey and submit the following documents and photographs to District staff by email at conservation@mcwd.org.

  1. Water Use Self-Survey Form
    This is a brief listing of the bathrooms, all the water fixtures present, and the extent of landscaping and irrigation systems. Download the form here: Water Use Self-Survey Form
  2. Water Conservation Self-Certification Form
    Please have the upper section of the Water Conservation Self-Certification Form completed by the Seller or their representative. Download the form here: Water Conservation Self-Certification Form
  3. Submit one photo of each complete bathroom.
  4. Submit detailed photos of all the toilets to help us verify the manufacturer and flow rate (close-ups of labels, stampings, and manufacture dates may be inside the tank).
  5. Submit photos of front and backyard landscaping.

Once the documents and photographs are received, District staff will determine if the property is compliant with the Water Code. If you "pass" the inspection, the certification will be signed by conservation staff and returned to you. Once you receive the counter-signed certificate, you may then present it to the Buyer for their acceptance and signature. If you "fail" the inspection, it is likely the home needs retrofitting to be compliant. If retrofitting is needed, you will be notified by staff about the specific work to be done.

Retrofit Requirements for Property Transfers

If not constructed to the current District standards, altered, failing, or if fixtures are missing, plumbing retrofits are required prior to the close of title for the sale or transfer of all existing properties in the Marina Coast Water District service area.

The responsibility to retrofit the property and to schedule the required inspection passes from the seller to the buyer only if the District receives and approves a letter of proposal from the buyer stating that they accept the responsibility to retrofit the property. Please contact District's Water Conservation staff to learn more about this procedure, and to request an extension of time for the Buyer to complete the required retrofitting after the sale of the property.

Residential Retrofit Requirements

  • Housing units built per District standards of 2007 or later must have, as required, the following conforming equipment: hot water recirculation, high-efficiency toilets, water-free urinals, and smart irrigation controllers.
  • For older housing units, all toilets must be retrofitted with toilets with a maximum flush capacity of 1.6 gallons per flush or less. No flush devices or conversion devices of any other kind will be accepted.
  • All showerheads must have a maximum flow capacity of 2.5 gallons per minute or less. Installing flow restriction washers in existing showerheads to reduce their flow does not satisfy the requirement.

Commercial Retrofit Requirements

  • Conventional urinals must be replaced with zero-water-use urinals
  • Conventional clothes washers must be replaced with high-efficiency clothes washers.
  • All toilets must be retrofitted with toilets with a maximum flush capacity of 1.6 gallons per flush or less. No flush devices or conversion devices of any other kind will be accepted.
  • All showerheads must be retrofitted with low-flow showerheads with a maximum flow capacity of 2.5 gallons per minute or less. These low-flow showerheads must also have a shut-off button. Installing flow restrictors in existing showerheads does not satisfy the requirement.

Free High-efficiency Showerheads and Faucet Aerators

All property sellers may request curb-side pickup or delivery of qualifying low-flow showerheads and low-flow faucet aerators, free-of-charge, by contacting our staff at (831) 883-5905 or conservation@mcwd.org.

High-efficiency Toilet and Urinal Rebates

Marina Coast Water District offers a rebate when customers retrofit to lower flow, high-efficiency (HET) or ultra-high efficiency (UHET) toilets. The rebate increases from $50, $75, or $100 to as much as $200 per toilet when a customer chooses to purchase MaP Premium Rated ultra-high efficiency toilets and has retrofitted all the toilets at an account to HET or UHET toilets. A rebate equal to the purchase price, up to $200, is also available for conventional urinal conversions to water-free urinals. The urinal rebate increases to as much as $300 when all the urinals at the account are retrofitted to water-free urinals, or when only one urinal exists at the account.