California Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance
The fastest way to validate your California landscape design for MWELO compliance. Search 3,500+ WUCOLS plants, define hydrozones, calculate your water budget, and download permit-ready compliance documents — for any of 366 California cities.
Click My Project to get started. Each project is set up for one property address, with unlimited revisions until your design is validated.
Enter your project address — your city, ETo and WUCOLS region are detected automatically — then choose the category and scope, enter the landscape area and define your hydrozones with their irrigation method.
Choose plants with the built-in WUCOLS selector. It offers only species rated for your region and applies each plant's correct plant factor automatically. If your project is subject to fuel modification, it also flags plants on the standard undesirable list.
Calculate to see your compliance result. If your design doesn't pass, go back, adjust it and recalculate as often as needed — revisions for the same address are included, only the address stays fixed. Your documents unlock as soon as it passes — then print or download them.
Pick from 3,500+ WUCOLS-classified species. The selector lists only the plants rated for your project's region and applies the right water-use category and plant factor automatically — no doubt about whether a plant choice is correct. If your project is subject to fuel modification, say so and the same search also flags plants on the standard undesirable list, so one search covers water and fire. Read the Fuel Mod guide →
City-specific ETo and WUCOLS region data for 366 cities across 53 counties. If your city isn't listed, select the closest one.
Print or download the MWELO Water Efficient Landscape Worksheet, plant material table, and a Certificate of Completion PDF pre-filled with your project address — ready to include in your Landscape Documentation Package.
Supports both residential (ETAF ≤ 0.55) and non-residential (ETAF ≤ 0.45) project types.
Include pool, spa, and built water feature areas in your water budget calculation automatically.
If your project is subject to fuel modification, the plant selector also flags plants on the standard fire-agency undesirable list, so one search covers water and fire.
Edit hydrozones, swap plants, and re-validate as many times as you need before closing the project.
Ready to validate your project?
Stop guessing whether your design complies. MWELO.com runs the numbers and gives you the document your city requires.
Get StartedNot valid for projects in Santa Monica
Once your design passes, MWELO.com generates your compliance documents, laid out like the official MWELO forms, ready to include with your permit submission.
Every hydrozone in one table: valve, WUCOLS water use, area, share of the landscape, irrigation method, microclimate and slope, with the plant factor ranges for reference.
A complete plant material list organized by hydrozone, with WUCOLS species classification, water requirement, and plant factor for each species in your design.
The Certificate of Completion form per MWELO §492.9, as a downloadable PDF pre-filled with your project address. After landscape installation is complete, the property owner or authorized designee completes and submits it to the local agency to verify the project was built in conformance with the approved Landscape Documentation Package.
See all four documents for a typical project before you start.
Four documents · Print to PDF or download · Saved on your device · Ready to include in your Landscape Documentation Package
Fuel modification rules decide which plants, and how much of them, can go within 100 feet of the house. Read our plain-language guide to Zones 0 to 3 and the standard undesirable plant list.