Recycling Treated Municipal Wastewater for Industrial Water Use

Appendix B
Status of Water Reuse Regulations and Guidelines
discharges to Class I surface waters (public water supplies) as indirect potable reuse.
Discharges less than 24 hours travel time upstream from Class I waters are also
considered as indirect potable reuse. Outfalls for surface water discharges cannot be
located within 500 feet of existing or approved potable water intakes within Class I
surface waters. Pilot testing is required prior to implementation of injection or surface
water augmentation projects.
Other States
In some states, regulations addressing indirect potable reuse are independent from the
state’s water reuse regulations. For example, the use of reclaimed water for ground
water recharge in Arizona is regulated under statutes and administrative rules
administered by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) and the
Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR). Several different permits are
required by these agencies prior to implementation of a ground water recharge project.
In general, ADEQ regulates ground water quality and ADWR manages ground water
supply. All aquifers in Arizona currently are classified for drinking water protected use,
and the state has adopted National Primary Drinking Water Maximum Contaminant
Levels (MCLs) as aquifer water quality standards. These standards apply to all ground
water in saturated formations that yield more than 5 gallons per day (gpd) of water.
Any ground water recharge project involving injection of reclaimed water into an
aquifer is required to demonstrate compliance with aquifer water quality standards at
the point of injection.
Regulation Mandates
States such as California and Florida have regulations that mandate water reuse under
certain conditions. The Florida Water Policy [Florida Department of Environmental
Protection, 1995] establishes a mandatory reuse program that is actively enforced. The
policy requires that the state’s water management districts identify water resource
caution areas that have water supply problems that have become critical or are
anticipated to become critical within the next 20 years. State legislation requires
preparation of water reuse feasibility studies for treatment facilities located within the
water resource caution areas, and a “reasonable” amount of reclaimed water use from
municipal wastewater treatment facilities is required within the designated water
resource caution areas unless reuse is not economically, environmentally, or technically
feasible. Water reuse also may be required outside of designated water resource caution
areas if reclaimed water is readily available, reuse is economically, environmentally, and
technologically feasible, and rules governing the imposition of requirements for reuse
have been adopted in those areas by the water management district having jurisdiction.
In California, laws and regulations exist that mandate water reuse under certain
conditions. Section 13550 of the California Water Code states that the use of potable
domestic water for nonpotable uses, including, but not limited to, cemeteries, golf
courses, highway landscaped areas, and industrial and irrigation uses, is a waste or an
unreasonable use of the water if reclaimed water is available which meets certain
conditions [California State Water Resources Control Board, 2000]. The conditions are:
Craddock Consulting Engineers B-17
In Association with CDM & James Crook
WWReuse Tm1_Appendix B_Regulatory.doc