(a) (1) The department, in coordination with the board, shall conduct necessary studies and investigations and recommend, no later than October 1, 2021, standards for outdoor residential use for adoption by the board in accordance with this chapter.

(2) (A) The standards shall incorporate the principles of the model water efficient landscape ordinance adopted by the department pursuant to the Water Conservation in Landscaping Act (Article 10.8 (commencing with Section 65591) of Chapter 3 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code).

(B) The standards shall apply to irrigable lands.

(C) The standards shall include provisions for swimming pools, spas, and other water features. Ornamental water features that are artificially supplied with water, including ponds, lakes, waterfalls, and fountains, shall be analyzed separately from swimming pools and spas.

(b) The department shall, by January 1, 2021, provide each urban retail water supplier with data regarding the area of residential irrigable lands in a manner that can reasonably be applied to the standards adopted pursuant to this section.

(c) The department shall not recommend standards pursuant to this section until it has conducted pilot projects or studies, or some combination of the two, to ensure that the data provided to local agencies are reasonably accurate for the data’s intended uses, taking into consideration California’s diverse landscapes and community characteristics.

(Added by Stats. 2018, Ch. 15, Sec. 7. (AB 1668) Effective January 1, 2019.)