Groundwater Issue: Recycled Water

Recycled water is wastewater that is purified through multiple levels of treatment. Reusing treated wastewater for beneficial purposes such as industrial processes, toilet flushing, and replenishing a groundwater basin (i.e., groundwater recharge) offers resource and financial savings. Recycled water for landscape irrigation requires less treatment than recycled water used for potable (i.e., drinking) reuse projects. Wastewater treatment can be tailored to meet the water quality requirements of a planned reuse; no documented cases of human health problems due to contact with recycled water that has been treated to standards, criteria, and regulations have been reported.

The Water Boards are dedicated to increasing the use of recycled water from municipal resources to provide a drought-proof, reliable water supply that will minimize our carbon footprint, and that can be sustained over the long-term. The Water Boards work to increase recycled water use and ensure public safety through a number of programs and activities:

• DRINKING WATER – The Division of Drinking Water (DDW) oversees water recycling projects and activities related to supplementation of drinking water supplies with recycled water. DDW provides guidance documents and other materials pertinent to the production, distribution and use of recycled water.
  More information on Division of Drinking Water's Recycled Water
• TREATED WASTEWATER – The statewide General Waste Discharge Requirements for Recycled Water Use facilitates the use of treated wastewater that meets standards set by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), in order to reduce demand on potable water supplies.
  More information on Treated Wastewater
• PERMITTING GUIDANCE – The statewide Recycled Water Policy provides guidance for permitting recycled water projects in order to increase the use of recycled water from municipal wastewater sources.
  More information on Recycled Water Policy
• TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE – The Water Recycling Funding Program (WRFP) promotes water recycling projects and research by providing technical and financial assistance to local agencies and other stakeholders.
  More information Water Recycling Funding Program (WRFP)