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Using Reclaimed Water

Bydyoungblood

The below information is taken from the TCEQ website. Reclaimed Water is basically treated wastewater which can be reclaimed to Type I or Type II standards. Type I standards are more stringent than Type II. Please note: some may claim that Type I wastewater is “drinkable” but it is not because it generally does not meet Federal Drinking Water Standards. Don’t be fooled. The below information may be helpful for developers in the determination of what to do with their treated wastewater:

What can I use reclaimed water for?

Municipal reclaimed water use:

Municipal reclaimed water may be substituted for many applications that would otherwise deplete current and future drinking water resources. Its use is divided into two “Types  ” that are defined according to whether people are likely to have contact with it during or after application.

Type I

You can apply Type I reclaimed water where public contact is likely. Examples of Type I uses include watering:

  • public parks
  • school yards
  • residential lawns
  • athletic fields

You also can use Type I reclaimed water for:

  • fire protection
  • food-crop irrigation
  • application to pastures grazed by milking animals

We may approve the use of Type I reclaimed water to supply recreational off-channel lakes or ponds and to flush toilets or urinals.

Type I reclaimed water may be used for either a Type I or Type II use.

Type II

You can apply Type II reclaimed water in remote, restricted, controlled, or limited-access areas where human contact is unlikely. This water is sometimes used at sod or tree farms, and along limited-access highway rights of way. You may use Type II reclaimed water for:

  • irrigation water that is not likely to contact edible portions of a crop
  • animal feed-crop irrigation that does not involve milking operations
  • supply to non-recreational water bodies

Entities may use Type II reclaimed water for:

  • soil compaction
  • dust control
  • cooling tower makeup water
  • certain applications at wastewater treatment facilities

We may also approve an entity’s use of Type II reclaimed water for hydraulic fracturing.

Reclaimed water treated to Type II standards may only be used for Type II applications.

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