BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1463
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Date of Hearing: April 28, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Susan Bonilla, Chair
AB 1463
(Gatto) - As Introduced February 27, 2015
NOTE: This bill is double-referred, having been previously
heard by the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee on
and approved on a 15-0 vote.
SUBJECT: Onsite recycled water.
SUMMARY: Requires the State Water Resources Control Board
(State Water Board), in consultation with the California
Department of Public Health (DPH), the California Building
Standards Commission (BSC), and stakeholders, to establish water
quality standards and distribution, monitoring, and reporting
requirements for onsite water recycling systems.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the BSC, within the Department of General
Services, under the California Building Standards Law, and
requires any building standard adopted or proposed by state
agencies to be submitted to, and approved by, the BSC prior to
codification into the California Building Standards Code.
(Health and Safety Code (HSC) Sections 18920 and 18930)
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2)Requires the BSC, if no state agency has the authority or
expertise to propose green building standards applicable to a
particular occupancy, to adopt, approve, codify, update, and
publish green building standards for those occupancies, and to
allow for input by other state agencies that have expertise in
green building subject areas. (HSC Section 18930.5)
3)Requires the BSC to publish the California Building Standards
Code in its entirety once every three years, and its
supplements in intervening years. (HSC Section 18942)
4)Establishes the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act
giving authority to the State Water Board over state water
rights and water quality policy, and requires that policy to
consist of water quality principles and guidelines for
long-range resource planning, including ground water and
surface water management programs and control and use of
recycled water. (Water Code (WC) Section 13000 et seq.,
13142)
5)Defines "recycled water" as water which, as a result of
treatment of waste, is suitable for a direct beneficial use or
a controlled use that would not otherwise occur, and is
therefore considered a valuable resource. (WC Section 13050)
6)Establishes the Water Recycling Act of 1991, creating
statewide goals for the amount of water recycled, as
specified. (WC Section13575 et seq.)
7)Requires the DPH to establish uniform statewide recycling
criteria for each type of use of recycled water use where the
use involves the protection of public health. (WC Section
13521)
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8)Transferred the administration of the Drinking Water Program
(DWP) from the DPH to the State Water Board. (SB 861
(Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) Chapter 35, Statutes
of 2014)
THIS BILL:
9)Defines "onsite recycled water" as water, including graywater,
rainwater, and other water captured onsite, that has been
sourced, treated, and used onsite in a building in a manner
that is protective of public health, safety, and the
environment.
10)Provides that "onsite recycled water" does not include any
water from a toilet, sewer, or onsite wastewater treatment
system or septic tank unless the State Water Board has
established additional standards, monitoring, and reporting
requirements for that water necessary to protect public
health, safety, and the environment.
11)Requires the State Water Board, in consultation with the DPH,
the BSC, and stakeholders, to establish water quality
standards and distribution, monitoring, and reporting
requirements for onsite water recycling systems prior to
authorizing the use of onsite recycled water in internal
plumbing of residential and commercial buildings.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
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12)Purpose. This bill is author-sponsored. According to the
author, "The importance of water conservations and water-use
efficiency cannot be overstated as California faces its fourth
year of its worst drought in recorded history. Despite
incredibly dire conditions, water continues to be wasted
throughout the state and there are existing opportunities to
conserve water and use water more efficiently. One such
opportunity is increasing the use of recycled water?. While
most recycled water in California is sourced from
municipal-level wastewater treatment plants, on-site water
recycling systems are an alternative option for those who do
not have easy access to municipally-sourced recycled water.
At the moment, there are no standards or testing and
monitoring requirements that are specifically tailored to
onsite recycled water systems. The existing standards, while
manageable for municipal wastewater treatment plants, are
burdensome for onsite systems and create a barrier to the use
of those systems in California. In light of California's
water conservation goals as well as existing barriers to the
use of water-saving technologies, it is necessary to create
standards and testing/monitoring protocols that facilitate
recycled-water use while preserving health and safety
standards."
13)Background. On April 1, 2015, Governor Brown issued
Executive Order B-29-15 with 31 directives to help California
respond to the drought. Among other things, the State Water
Board is required to impose restrictions to achieve a
statewide 25% reduction in potable urban water usage, and
requires water suppliers to California's cities and towns to
reduce usage as compared to the amount used in 2013. In
addition, the Executive Order directed the State Water Board
to impose restrictions to require that commercial, industrial,
and institutional properties, such as campuses and golf
courses, immediately implement water efficiency measures to
reduce potable water usage, as specified. The order also
directed the California Energy Commission with the Department
of Water Resources and the State Water Board to deploy an
innovative Water Energy Technology program for businesses,
residents, industries, and agriculture by accelerating the use
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of cutting-edge technologies, including integrated onsite
reuse systems, recognizing the need to promote new approaches
to conserving water. In addition, the order requires state
permitting agencies to prioritize review and approval of water
infrastructure projects and programs that increase local water
supplies, including water recycling facilities and stormwater
capture and graywater systems.
Recycled Water Policy. Water recycling is emphasized in
California laws and policies as a way to alleviate water
scarcity concerns. The recent order affirms the state's
commitment to promoting water recycling. The 2009 California
Water Plan, developed by the Department of Water Resources,
promotes the use and reuse of water as one of its water
management strategies. The State Water Board's Recycled Water
Policy also seeks to increase the use of recycled water from
municipal wastewater sources and adopted as one of its goals
the use of recycled water over 2002 levels by at least one
million acre-feet per year by 2020 and by at least two million
by 2030, and the substitution of as much recycled water for
potable water as possible by 2030. In addition, the policy
provides direction to the Regional Water Quality Control
Boards on monitoring requirements for constituents of
emergency concern (CECs) in recycled municipal wastewater,
which are based on recommendations from a Science Advisory
Panel convened pursuant to the policy. CECs are defined to be
chemicals in personal care products, pharmaceuticals including
antibiotics, antimicrobials; industrial, agricultural, and
household chemicals; hormones; food additives; transformation
products, inorganic constituents; and nanomaterials.
According to the State Water Board, when used in compliance
with the Recycled Water Policy, water recycling criteria in
Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, and all
applicable state and federal water quality laws, recycled
water is safe for the approved uses. The State Water Board
strongly supports recycled water as a safe alternative to
potable water for such approved uses.
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According to the author, potable water is used throughout
California for non-potable purposes which could safely be met
using non-potable recycled water, depending on the level of
treatment of the wastewater. Many applications currently use
potable water for non-potable uses, such as industrial cooling
processes, landscapes, golf courses, food crop irrigation, and
toilet flushing. According to a study by the California
Sustainability Alliance (Alliance), more than 60% of urban
water in southern California is used for non-potable
applications, such as outdoor irrigation, toilet flushing, and
cooling. As a result, potable water in these applications can
be substituted with the appropriate quality of recycled water.
California's Water Recycling Criteria. Most applications of
recycled water are sourced from municipal-level wastewater
treatment plants; however, onsite water recycling systems can
complement these larger plants in cases in which developing
recycled water distribution is expensive. Under Chapter 3 of
Division 4 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations,
recycled water must be treated at appropriate levels of
disinfection including, for example, daily testing for certain
bacteria. These requirements create on-going expense and
building operation considerations that reduce the
attractiveness of onsite water recycling. These standards do
not take into account graywater (e.g. water from showers,
sinks, and laundry) and water that is treated and managed on a
single site, as opposed to blackwater, or water that may
contain raw sewage and that is transported from a treatment
plant to the point of use. As a result, there are no
standards or testing and monitoring requirements that are
specifically tailored to onsite recycled water systems for
graywater and other water captured onsite.
This bill would promote the use of onsite recycled water by
requiring the State Water Board, to establish water quality
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standards and distribution, monitoring, and reporting
requirements for onsite water recycling systems for the use of
onsite recycled water in internal plumbing of residential and
commercial buildings.
14)Prior Related Legislation. AB 2282 (Gatto), Chapter 606,
Statutes of 2014, required the Department of Housing and
Community Development to research, develop and propose to the
BSC mandatory building standards for the installation of
recycled water infrastructure in single-family and
multi-family dwellings, and required the BSC to research,
develop and adopt mandatory green building standards for the
installation of recycled water infrastructure in commercial
and public buildings.
SB 1391 (Padilla) of 2008, sought to require the State Water
Board to adopt a statewide recycled water policy by January
31, 2009, and to make related recommendations. NOTE: This
bill was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger who believed the
bill was unnecessary because " The SWRCB has already prepared
a draft Recycled Water Policy and is currently working with
stakeholders to reach consensus on the details of that policy,
which is expected to be approved in early 2009". The State
Water Board has since adopted a statewide recycled water
policy.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:
Sierra Club California writes in support, "Water recycling
within buildings can create real savings of water and energy as
water can be used for multiple purposes before needing to be
discharged. For example, water from a shower can be
subsequently used for outdoor landscaping, preventing the need
for water suppliers to treat that much water to potable
standards. [This bill] works to increase water recycling
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capabilities by creating a multi-agency stakeholder process to
facilitate the development of standards to make water recycling
possible. This will help save water and energy in California
and should be encouraged."
Nexus eWater writes in support, "[This bill] will help clarify
the regulatory climate and create clarity for those
manufacturers who would like to manufacture and market products
that could reduce water use by recycling treated graywater
produced from showers and laundry and reuse it for landscape or
toilet flushing?.Current California standards reference Title 22
as appropriate for all types of treated water. It does not take
into account graywater particularly when treated and managed on
a single site. Instead, it is a standard set for waste water
treated off-site that may contain raw sewage or
blackwater?However, water derived from the laundry, shower,
baths or sinks should not be subject to these testing and
treatment protocols?.California absolutely needs to establish
standards that are supported and enforced by local regulators in
order to promote the use of alternate water sources. However,
these standards must recognize both the source of the water and
whether it is treated for reuse on or off site."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION:
None on file.
REGISTERED SUPPORT:
California Building Industry Association
California Business Properties Association
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Sierra Club California
Nexus eWater
REGISTERED OPPOSITION:
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Eunie Linden / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301