California’s Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved OAL File No. 2024-0624-02S – the Direct Potable Reuse Regulations – and filed with the Secretary of State on August 6, 2024.
The regulations will take effect on October 1, 2024.
This is a step in the evolution of using recycled water as a safe and reliable water supply for Californians.
Direct potable reuse is a practice which uses multiple phases of advanced water treatment technology to transform recycled water into safe, reliable purified water, for blending directly into a community’s existing drinking water system.
California is considered a pioneer in purifying recycled water for use in drinking water systems.
In the 1960’s, the Montebello Forebay Ground Water Recharge Project in Los Angeles made history by recharging a drinking water aquifer with purified recycled water.
Today, communities across the state use purified water to recharge groundwater, reservoirs and rivers, in a practice known as indirect potable reuse.
The new regulations create additional flexibility by allowing advanced purified water to be added directly into drinking water systems where it isn’t feasible to first blend it into a larger body.
“These new regulations are a tremendous step forward as we develop Pure Water Southern California, which will be one of the largest recycled water facilities in the world and benefit 19 million people in our service area,” said Interim General Manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Vice President of the WateReuse Association Deven Upadhyay in a press release. “Pursuing direct potable reuse for a portion of the supplies produced at our Pure Water facility will allow us to better manage the weather extremes we face from a changing climate. This is a critical new resource, and these regulations make public health the top priority.”
