BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Wieckowski, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1738
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|Author: |McCarty |
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|Version: |3/28/2016 |Hearing | 6/29/2016 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Rachel Machi Wagoner |
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SUBJECT: Building standards: dark graywater.
ANALYSIS:
Existing federal law:
1) Establishes the Clean Water Act (CWA), which regulates
water quality standards and specifies requirements for
discharges (including wastewater) and requires permits to
protect the waters of the United States of America.
Existing state law and regulation:
1) Establishes the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control
Act:
a) Giving authority to the State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB) over state water rights and water
quality policy.
b) Establishing nine regional water quality control
boards (regional boards) to oversee water quality on a
day-to-day basis at the local/regional level.
c) Requiring the boards to implement and enforce
CWA, including issuance of waste discharge permits,
including for wastewater discharges.
2) 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."
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3) Defines "graywater" as "untreated wastewater that has
not been contaminated by any toilet discharge, has not been
affected by infectious, contaminated, or unhealthy bodily
wastes, and does not present a threat from contamination by
unhealthful processing, manufacturing, or operating wastes."
Specifies that "graywater" includes wastewater from
bathtubs, showers, bathroom washbasins, clothes washing
machines, and laundry tubs, but does not include wastewater
from kitchen sinks or dishwashers.
4) Defines "beneficial uses" as uses "of the waters of the
state that may be protected against quality degradation
[that] include, but are not limited to, domestic, municipal,
agricultural and industrial supply; power generation;
recreation; aesthetic enjoyment; navigation; and
preservation and enhancement of fish, wildlife, and other
aquatic resources or preserves."
5) Establishes the Water Recycling Act of 1991, creating a
statewide goal to recycle a total of 700,000 acre-feet of
water per year by the year 2000 and 1,000,000 acre-feet of
water per year by the year 2010. Requires each urban water
supplier to prepare, and update every five years, an urban
water management plan with specified components, including
information on recycled water and its potential for use as a
water source in the service area of the urban water
supplier.
6) Makes findings regarding SWRCB's updated goals adopted
by resolution, which update the above goals to 1,000,000
acre feet per year above 2002 levels by 2020 and by at least
2,000,000 acre feet per year by 2030.
7) Requires SWRCB to establish uniform statewide recycling
criteria for each type of use of recycled water use, as
specified.
8) Requires SWRCB to: (1) adopt regulations regarding
groundwater replenishment with recycled water, (2) adopt
regulations regarding surface water augmentation with
recycled water, and (3) report to the Legislature on the
feasibility of developing uniform water recycling criteria
AB 1738 (McCarty) Page 3 of
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for direct potable reuse.
9) Requires SWRCB to adopt a general permit for landscape
irrigation use of recycled water.
10)
Directs the Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD) to propose the adoption, amendment, or
repeal of building standards to the California Building
Standards Commission (BSC) for all hotels, motels, lodging
houses, apartment houses, and dwellings.
11)
Authorizes BSC to approve and adopt building standards.
Every three years building standards rulemaking is
undertaken to revise and update the California Building
Standards Code. (Title 24 of the California Code of
Regulations).
12)
Requires the BSC to adopt building standards for the
construction, installation, and alteration of graywater
systems for indoor and outdoor uses in nonresidential
occupancies. Governs the use of recycled water from sources
that contain domestic waste, in whole or in part.
(California Code of Regulations (CCR) Title 22 , Division 4,
Chapter 3)
13)
Allows a governing body, city or county to make
modifications to building standards if they make express
findings that such a modification or change is necessary
because of local climatic, geological, or topographical
conditions.
14)
Requires HCD/ BSC to conduct research and propose for the
2019 building code mandatory building standards for the
installation of recycled water infrastructure in newly
constructed single-family and multifamily residential
buildings.
15)
Authorizes HCD to revise and update graywater standards at
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any time, and requires the Department to reconsider
graywater standards at the next triennial rulemaking that
commences after their adoption. (Health and Safety Code
§17922.12 (d))
16)
Establishes minimum requirements for the installation of
graywater systems in occupancies regulated by HCD. (CCR
Title 24, Part 5, Chapter 16A, Part I (California Plumbing
Code)).
This bill: defines "dark graywater" as "a specified wastewater
that comes from kitchen sinks and dishwashers." This bill would
require the department, at the next triennial building standards
rulemaking cycle, to develop and submit for approval building
standards for the construction, installation, and alteration of
dark graywater systems for indoor and outdoor uses."
Background
1) Graywater: In California, graywater is defined as, "untreated
wastewater that has not been contaminated by any toilet
discharge, has not been affected by infectious, contaminated,
or unhealthy bodily wastes, and does not present a threat from
contamination by unhealthful processing, manufacturing, or
operating wastes."
Under California law, graywater includes wastewater from
bathtubs, showers, bathroom washbasins, clothes washing
machines, and laundry tubs, but does not include wastewater
from kitchen sinks or dishwashers.
This bill would add a definition for "dark graywater" as
untreated wastewater from kitchen sinks or dishwashers.
2) Graywater: benefits: There is evidence that graywater (as
currently defined), when properly handled and used, can be put
to beneficial use. Therefore, existing law allows specified
systems and limited uses.
According to a 2009 UCLA report, Graywater- A Potential Source
of Water, graywater constitutes about 60% of the total indoor
water use in single-family homes. The UCLA report predicts
that recycling all of the graywater in households in Southern
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California would be sufficient to meet outdoor water use
demands in the area.
3) How Many Shades of Graywater? Health and Environmental Risks
Associated with Reclaimed Water: The different types of
recycling and reuse of water must be balanced against the
potential health and environmental risks, such as potential
exposures to pathogenic bacteria, viruses and chemical
contamination.
a) Human Health Risks of reclaimed water include:
i) Bacteria (e.g. Escherichia coli or E coli,
Salmonella spp),
ii) Viruses (e.g. Enteroviruses, Rotavirus, Hepatitis
A),
iii) Protozoa (e.g. Giardia Lamblia, Cryptosporidium
parvum),
iv) Helminths (e.g. Taenia spp (Tapeworm),
Ancylostoma spp (Hookworm).
b) Environmental Risks of reclaimed water include:
i) Salinity - A chronic problem which needs to be
managed in all irrigation systems. Can result in
reduced plant growth and plant damage and can impact
freshwater plants and invertebrates in natural
ecosystems if discharged directly with little dilution.
The most common salt is sodium chloride, although
other salts also contribute to salinity.
ii) Sodium - Can be toxic to some plants if it
accumulates in soils from ongoing irrigation. More
important as a component of salinity and sodicity.
iii) Chloride - Can be toxic to plants if sprayed
directly on leaves, and if it accumulates in soils from
ongoing irrigation, but is usually more important as a
component of salinity.
iv) Nitrogen - Mostly of benefit to cultivated
plants, but can cause eutrophication (excessive
nutrient levels) in land and aquatic ecosystems.
v) Phosphorus - Mostly of benefit to cultivated
plants, but can cause eutrophication (excessive
nutrient levels) in land and aquatic ecosystems.
vi) Chlorine residuals - By-products of disinfection
processes may be harmful to aquatic or marine
ecosystems if discharged directly with little dilution.
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vii) Hydraulic loading - Too much water applied to
land can result in excess groundwater recharge, water
logging and secondary salinity.
viii) Boron - Plant toxicity may arise in some plants
in some soils if it accumulates from ongoing
irrigation.
ix) Surfactants - Some organic and inorganic surface
active agents from detergents can remain in recycled
water and can be harmful to some aquatic organisms.
x) Pathogens - The same pathogens listed above
presenting risk directly to human health are an
environmental risk. Should E Coli be discharged into
the soil from graywater irrigation it could potentially
contaminate food crops or reach and contaminate
groundwater.
Exposure to graywater can occur both through direct contact
and through exposure to graywater contaminated irrigated
landscaping, crops, or groundwater. As proposed by this
bill, dark graywater could be used indoors, so additional
risks would exist by direct contact with the water used in
the toilet or by inhalation when the toilet is flushed.
Because wastewater from kitchen sinks or dishwashers can
contain chemicals from dishwashing detergents, food
particles, oils, fats, grease, pathogens from meat
preparation, and even, as some studies have shown,
concentrations of fecal coliform at similar or higher levels
than toilet water, it can be considered a high-risk
wastewater.
For this reason, it is not considered gray water.
By creating different shades of gray, the statute would be
implying different levels of risk not supported by water
quality data.
4) Graywater regulation in California: Since the 1990s,
California's Building Code has included provisions that
authorized the installation and use of graywater systems, but
the regulations were seen to be restrictive and complicated.
In 2008, California revised its approach to graywater
regulation by enacting SB 1258 (Lowenthal, Chapter 172,
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Statutes of 2008), the "Showers to Flowers" bill, which shifted
responsibility for regulating residential graywater systems
from the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to HCD. SB 1258
required the HCD to revise building standards for the
construction, installation, and alteration of graywater systems
for indoor and outdoor uses.
HCD promulgated the new residential graywater standard,
incorporated into the 2007 California Plumbing Code (Title 24,
Part 5, Chapter 16A), which is intended to conserve water by
facilitating greater reuse of laundry, shower, lavatory and
similar sources of discharge for irrigation and/or indoor use;
reduce the number of non-compliant graywater systems by making
legal compliance more easily achievable; provide guidance for
avoiding potentially unhealthful conditions; and, provide an
alternative way to relieve stress on a private sewage disposal
system by diverting the graywater.
According to HCD, the regulations were developed with input
from stakeholders representing a wide variety of interests
during several public meetings, with several drafts for public
comment.
Toward the end of the development of the regulations, HCD
decided to propose the graywater standards on an emergency
basis in order to allow the regulations to become effective
approximately 18 months sooner than they would have been
through the standard adoption process.
It is not clear what the justification was to adopt emergency
regulations: bypassing the standard/full Administrative
Procedures Act (APA) process or whether there was sufficient
input or consideration about the public and environmental
health risks associated with graywater exposures in this
truncated process.
Washington/Oregon Apples to California Oranges comparison.
Although Washington and Oregon allow the reuse of dark
graywater, those states limit that reuse to only outdoor
irrigation. Additionally, those states also require that
kitchen sink and dishwasher wastewater be treated, through
physical or chemical processes, depending on the type of
irrigation for which the graywater is intended. Neither
requirement is incorporated into this legislation.
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Comments
1) Purpose of Bill. The author asserts that the effects of
climate change, specifically the drought, can be seen
throughout California. The author feels that as a state, we
need to be proactive and explore all opportunities to be water
wise. The author believes that this modest measure will allow
the state to look at dark graywater as a source of reusable
water and create a framework for responsible homeowners to
follow.
2) Need for Consistency in State Policy Will Ensure Greatest
Benefits of Reused Water.
a) Ensuring Water Quality and Protecting Public Health. The
treatment and use of recycled water and graywater is
regulated across many different state and local agencies.
SWRCB oversees California's water quality and has the charge
of developing regulations for recycled water recharge of
drinking water sources and studying the feasibility of direct
potable reuse of recycled water.
SWRCB has the responsibility of permitting wastewater
treatment and discharges in the waters of the state as well
as ensuring water quality.
HCD and BSC develop and implement the building standards for
the use of graywater systems.
Local governments implement and enforce building permit
requirements and environmental/public health laws for their
jurisdictions.
While SB 1258 appropriately transferred the development of
graywater building standards from DWR to BSC, it did so
without consideration of water quality.
The complex nature of designing systems that convey
contaminated water from inside the home, in such a way that
drinking water infrastructure is not compromised, requires
the involvement of SWRCB at every stage of the policy
development process. Authorizing its reuse should have sign
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off by the environmental, public health agency that has
oversight over water quality, wastewater regulation and
permitting and public and environmental protection.
What happens once a graywater (or dark graywater) is
installed? How does a homeowner ensure proper usage and
maintenance? Who do they call for repairs or malfunctions?
If a house is sold with a graywater system, what is required
to be told to the new homeowner about the system and
potential risks of exposure? What happens if there is
exposure to a child or animal?
How do we ensure as we proceed with new state policies on
water reuse that all of the regulatory bodies are working
together and that regulations adopted are adequately
protective of public health and the environment?
b) What Direction Does California Invest In? - How Does
California Ensure Best and Consistent State Policy for
Recycling Water and Uses of Recycled or Graywater - when is
centralized treatment and reuse best and when is it better
to reuse on-site?
Installation of graywater systems is an added expense to
homeowners and graywater is untreated and unregulated use of
wastewater that can potentially pose a risk to public health
and groundwater contamination. While water conservation and
reuse is imperative for every Californian, and graywater
reuse may be one beneficial path, the right solution may be
different across the states.
While in 2008, when Senator Lowenthal authored SB 1258, it
may have made sense to encourage greater uses of these
systems statewide. Now, in 2016 the water reuse landscape
is very different.
SB 918 (Pavley, Chapter 700, Statutes of 2010) directed
SWRCB to develop regulations for the treatment standards for
indirect groundwater and surface water augmentation and look
at the feasibility for direct potable reuse of recycled
water by the end of this year.
Sanitation districts across the state have invested billions
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of dollars in research, development, and building several
state-of-the-art systems for recycled water.
California's Water Recycling Act states that it is
California's goal to recycle more than 2,000,000 acre feet
of recycled water per year by 2030.
The state has invested in recycled water infrastructure in
the last 2 water bonds.
There is no question that centralized water recycling at a
permitted facility, with sophisticated technology run by
engineers, where the water is tested and monitored regularly
and inspected by water quality agencies is going to garner a
safer and cleaner reuse of the water. While centralized
water recycling with the highest and best technologies is
not yet available statewide, is that not the direction we
are investing in?
As we pass laws and policies encouraging and requiring local
jurisdictions to support graywater systems, we may create a
disincentive for large investments in new wastewater
recycling system.
3) Suggested amendment. As the author succinctly states, "climate
change and longer and more frequent droughts are changing the
landscape of California necessitating smarter and the most
prudent uses and reuses of the state's precious water
resources. "
However, there needs to be a consistent and comprehensive
approach to how we best use and reuse all our water. The bill
should be amended to authorize SWRCB to do a comprehensive
overview of the state's water recycling and graywater
resources, develop regulations for the best management of those
resources to ensure public and environmental health protection
and require SWRCB review and sign off on new building standards
involving graywater use. Local agencies should be given the
discretion to not approve these systems if they are investing
in centralized water recycling. Upon completion of the review
the SWRCB should report to the Legislature its findings and any
recommendations for statutory changes.
Related/Prior Legislation
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AB 2282 (Gatto, Chapter 606, Statues of 2014) requires HCD to
conduct research to assist in the development of, and to submit
for adoption of, mandatory building standards for the
installation of recycled water systems for newly constructed
single-family and multifamily residential buildings.
AB 849 (Gatto, Chapter 577, Statutes of 2011) repeals the
authority of a city, county, or other local agency to adopt
building standards that prohibit entirely the use of graywater
and instead authorize the adoption, under specified
requirements, of standards that are more restrictive than the
standards adopted pursuant to state requirements.
SB 518 (Lowenthal, Chapter 622, Statutes of 2010) requires BSC,
as a part of the next triennial edition of the California
Building Standards Code adopted after January 1, 2011, to adopt
building standards for the construction, installation, and
alteration of graywater systems for indoor and outdoor uses in
nonresidential occupancies.
SB 918 (Pavley, Chapter 700, Statutes of 2010) requires SWRCB to
adopt uniform water recycling criteria for indirect potable use
for groundwater recharge, by December 31, 2013, uniform water
recycling criteria for surface water augmentation by December
31, 2016 and to investigate and then report to the Legislature
on the feasibility of developing uniform water recycling
criteria for direct potable reuse, by December 31, 2016.
SB 1258 (Lowenthal, Chapter 172, Statutes of 2008) requires HCD,
at the next triennial building standards rulemaking, to adopt
and submit building standards for the construction,
installation, and alteration of graywater, as defined, systems
for indoor and outdoor uses. This bill also moved the
responsibility for regulating residential graywater from the
Department of Water Resources to the Department of Housing and
Community Development.
DOUBLE REFERRAL:
This measure was heard in Senate Transportation and Housing
Committee on June 21, 2016, and passed out of committee with a
vote of 7-0.
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SOURCE: Author
SUPPORT:
California League of Conservation Voters
City of Santa Monica
Ojai Valley Green Coalition
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Sierra Club California
Sustainable Silicon Valley
7 individuals
OPPOSITION:
Eastern Municipal Water District
ARGUMENTS IN
SUPPORT:
Californian's produce around 400 million gallons per day of dark
graywater, in both residential homes and commercial kitchens.
This bill would legalize the reuse of that water which is
important and timely in our drought-prone state.
ARGUMENTS IN
OPPOSITION:
Eastern Municipal Water District states, "Studies have indicated
that a majority of gray water systems that are currently installed
within California have been installed without the proper permits
and a greater number fail to comply with maintenance and
inspections required in the plumbing code. The addition of "dark
graywater" could jeopardize public health."
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