Division of Drinking Water's Recycled Water Information

Announcements

• The Office of Administrative Law approved the proposed Direct Potable Reuse regulations and filed the regulations with the Secretary of State. The regulations will be effective on October 1, 2024. Approved regulation text and FAQ are available.
• Office of Administrative Law approved the proposed Surface Water Augmentation regulations and filed the regulations with the Secretary of State. The regulations will be effective on October 1, 2018. Approved regulation text is available.
• State Water Board adopted the Water Reclamation Requirements for Recycled Water Use (General Order) at its June 7, 2016 board meeting.
• Regulations for groundwater replenishment using recycled water became effective on June 18, 2014. They've been incorporated into Recycled Water-Related Regulations at the Division of Drinking Water's Law Book.

Statutes and Regulations

• Compilations of current statutes and regulations related to recycled water are available at the Division of Drinking Water's Law Book, which also includes laws related to drinking water.
• Current Cross Connection regulations are included in Recycled Water-Related Regulations, under Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations. Revisions of these regulations are being developed.

Current Activities

• Among the statutes related to recycled water are Water Code sections 13560-13569, which require us to:
• Adopt regulations for groundwater replenishment using recycled water by June 30, 2014. The regulations, which became effective June 18, 2014, are available here.
• Adopt regulations for surface water augmentation (SWA) using recycled water by December 31, 2016. The regulations, which became effective October 1, 2018, are available at the SWA regulation webpage. A list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the SWA regulations is available here.
• Submit a report to the legislature on the feasibility of developing uniform water recycling criteria for direct potable reuse by December 31, 2016.
• To assist in these activities, we've appointed an Advisory Group and an Expert Panel.
• The Report to Legislature was submitted on December 29, 2016. A copy of the Report and more information are available here.
• Adopt regulations for the raw water augmentation form of direct potable reuse by December 31, 2023. Information on the status of regulation adoption at the direct potable reuse webpage.
• Water Code section 13558 requires the State Water Board to adopt regulations for onsite treatment and reuse of nonpotable water in multifamily residential, commercial, and mixed use buildings on or before December 1, 2022. Additional information regarding development of these regulations is available on the Regulations for Onsite Treatment and Reuse of Nonpotable Water web page.
• Water Code section 13521.2 requires the State Water Board, on or before January 1, 2023, to update the uniform statewide criteria for nonpotable recycled water uses (Water Recycling Criteria) to incorporate by reference the criteria and applicable backflow protection provisions, including provisions for the use of swivel or changeover device for dual-plumbed systems, that are contained in the policy handbook adopted pursuant to section 116407 of the Health and Safety Code (the Cross Connection Control Policy Handbook). Additional information regarding the Water Recycling Criteria update is available on the Water Recycling Criteria Update web page.

Guidance Documents

• Preparation of an Engineering Report for the Production, Distribution and Use of Recycled Water — June 2023
• Analysis and reporting of non-target compounds—including tentatively identified compounds (TICs)—for extremely impaired sources and recycled water:
  1. Non-Target Volatile Organic Chemicals (PDF) - September 10, 2003 draft
  2. Non-Target Semi-Volatile Organic Chemicals (PDF) - September 10, 2003 draft

Other Reports

• Alternative Treatment Technology Report for Recycled Water (April 2023) (PDF)
  • Appendix A. California Department of Health Services Reduction of Virus and Bacteria by Filtration and Disinfection (October 2001) (PDF)
  • Appendix B. Advisory Memo Concerning the Cleaning of UV Quartz Sleeves (PDF)
  • Appendix C. Historic Conditionally Accepted Granular Media Filters (PDF)
  • Appendix D. Pre-2013 Historic Conditionally Accepted Polymeric Membrane Filters (Post-2013 Polymeric Membranes no longer need to be Conditionally Accepted) (PDF)
  • Appendix E. Available Conditional Acceptance Letters Referenced in the ATTR (PDF)
• Review of California's Water Recycling Criteria for Agricultural Irrigation - Recommendations of an Independent Advisory Panel (September 2012) (PDF, 2MB)
  An Independent Advisory Panel, consisting of nine nationally recognized experts, reviewed California's Water Recycling Criteria for use in agricultural irrigation. This report reviews the use of water recycling for agricultural purposes, including food crop production, in order to address whether the use of recycled water, produced in conformance with California's Water Recycling Criteria, has been protective of public health.
• BDOC as a Performance Measure for Organics Removal in Groundwater Recharge of Recycled Water - Final Report of the Independent Advisory Panel (September 2012) (PDF)
  An Independent Advisory Panel, consisting of seven nationally recognized experts, reviewed the use of Biodegradable Dissolved Organic Carbon (BDOC) as an alternative to Total Organic Carbon (TOC) as a suitable performance measure to assess the removal of unregulated wastewater-derived organics from recycled water used for groundwater recharge via surface spreading. This report provides useful information for future proposals regarding BDOC as a performance measurement.

Other Information

• Emerging contaminants such as endocrine disruptors, pharmaceuticals and personal care products are of current interest.

Memorandum of Agreement

• Memorandum of Agreement (PDF) between the Department and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) on the use of recycled water.

Contact Us

• Questions about our recycled water-related activities should be directed to Ginachi Amah.