Investigation on the Feasibility of Developing Uniform Water Recycling Criteria for Direct Potable Reuse

In 2010, the California Legislature enacted Senate Bill (SB) 918 (Chapter 700, Statutes of 2010), which added sections 13560-13569 (Division 7, Chapter 7.3) to the Water Code regarding potable reuse of recycled water. SB 918 defined the term “direct potable reuse”1 and directed the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to investigate the feasibility of developing uniform water recycling criteria for direct potable reuse (DPR), convene an expert panel to study the technical and scientific issues, and provide a final report to the Legislature by December 31, 2016. The main difference between DPR and indirect potable reuse (IPR) is DPR’s lack of a meaningful environmental buffer.

In 2013, the Legislature enacted SB 322 (Chapter 637, Statutes of 2013), which amended Chapter 7.3 of the Water Code to require that an advisory group subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act be convened to advise the expert panel and the State Water Board in the development of the feasibility report. SB 322 additionally tasked the expert panel to assess whether additional areas of research are needed to be able to establish uniform regulatory criteria for DPR and to recommend an approach for accomplishing any additional needed research in a timely manner. SB322 required that a draft report summarizing the expert panel research recommendations be prepared by June 30, 2016, and a draft feasibility report be provided to the public for comment by September 1, 2016.