New Water Heater Requirements

Fixing poor air quality here in the Coachella Valley has been a hot topic of conversation. But South Coast Air Quality Management District is taking part in "finding solutions". Starting January 1st of 2026, South Coast will require new buildings to transition over to zero-emission small water heaters. This marks the first compliance date for rule 11-46.2, requiring new and existing buildings to transition to zero-emission residential and commercial building water heaters. Experts say they already have strict rules in place for their stationary sources, but there’s still a significant amount of nitrogen oxides coming from buildings. This story was written and reported by Tiani Jadulang.