Summary of Texas' Water Reuse Guideline or Regulation for Onsite Non-Potable Water Reuse
This page is part of the EPA’s REUSExplorer tool, which summarizes the different state level regulations or guidelines for water reuse for a variety of sources and end-uses.
The source water for this summary is Onsite Collected Waters.
On this page:
- Technical basis
- Types of onsite non-potable reuse approved for use in Texas
- Water reuse category/type
- Additional context and definitions
- Onsite non-potable reuse specifications (table)
- Upcoming state law or policy
- References
- Disclaimer
This page is a summary of the state’s water reuse law or policy and is provided for informational purposes only. Please always refer to the state for the most accurate and updated information.
In Texas, onsite non-potable water reuse The use of treated onsite collected waters for non-potable purposes at the single-building or district scale. This reuse application excludes the use of recycled water from a centralized treatment and distribution system for landscape irrigation or commercial uses. applications include, but are not limited to, foundation stabilization, gardening, landscaping, toilet and urinal flushing and dust control. The sources of water onsite collected waters Water sources generated within or surrounding a building, residence, or district. Other terms referring to this source of water include onsite collected rainwater, greywater, blackwater, air conditioning condensate, and foundation water. are specified by the state as alternative onsite water and graywater. The write-up uses state terms when discussing sources or uses of water that may differ from the Regulations and End-Use Specifications Explorer's (REUSExplorer's) terms.
Check out how Texas uses rainwater collected onsite for potable water reuse.
Texas uses rainwater collected onsite for a variety of applications, including onsite non-potable water reuse and potable water reuse. Browse the potable water reuse summary page.
Technical basis
Texas approves the onsite non-potable reuse of graywater and alternative onsite water for various residential, commercial and agricultural onsite applications, including but not limited to, foundation stabilization, gardening, irrigation, dust control and toilet and urinal flushing (30 Tex. Admin. Code § 210.81-85). All applicable provisions of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.), including its implementing regulations, must be met in addition to any state water quality standards. Treatment requirements and performance standards are applied for the removal of E. coli, Enterococci, biological oxygen demand, turbidity and total suspended solids, summarized in the table. The technical basis for developing the specifications and/or removals of these microbial contaminants and other relevant indicators is not explicitly specified.
Types of onsite non-potable reuse approved for use in Texas
30 Tex. Admin. Code § 210.81-85 defines the following approved onsite non-potable uses for alternative onsite water and graywater:
- Residential onsite reuse:
- Foundation stabilization,
- Gardening, composting, landscaping,
- Toilet or urinal flushing.
- Industrial, commercial, agricultural and institutional onsite reuse:
- Process water,
- Landscape maintenance and irrigation,
- Dust control,
- Toilet or urinal flushing.
Water reuse category/type
Texas does not assign alternative onsite water and graywater used for onsite non-potable reuse to a category or class.
Additional context and definitions
The respective definitions for graywater and alternative onsite water are briefly summarized for onsite non-potable reuse applications (30 Tex. Admin. Code § 210.82):
- Graywater is defined as “wastewater from showers, bathtubs, handwashing lavatories, sinks that are used for disposal of household or domestic products, sinks that are not used for food preparation or disposal and clothes-washing machine.
- Alternative onsite water is defined as “rainwater, air-conditioner condensate, foundation drain water, stormwater (consisting of rainfall runoff, snowmelt runoff and surface runoff and drainage), swimming pool backwash and drain water or reverse osmosis reject water generated at private residences and agriculture facilities.”
For residential onsite reuse, the property owner is responsible for ensuring the reuse system is properly operated and maintained to achieve the E. coli and total suspended solids requirements. For industrial, commercial, institutional and agricultural onsite reuse, the reuse system should be monitoring monthly for E. coli and total suspended solids requirements. No other treatment requirements were specified for treating graywater and alternative onsite water for onsite non-potable reuse applications.
Onsite non-potable reuse specifications
Summary of Texas' Non-potable Reuse Specifications
| Recycled Water Class/Category | Source Water Type | Water Quality Parameter | Specification | Sampling/Monitoring Requirements (Frequency of monitoring; site/ location of sample; quantification methods) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Residential onsite reuse (foundation stabilization, gardening, composting, landscaping, toilet and urinal flushing) |
Graywater and alternative onsite water |
E. coli |
<14 MPN or CFU/100 mL (30-day geometric mean) <240 MPN or CFU/100 mL (single sample maximum) |
"The property owner is responsible for ensuring that the graywater reuse system or combined reuse system is properly operated and maintained to achieve these requirements. Monitoring and recordkeeping for E. coli and total suspended solids is not required." |
|
Total suspended solids (TSS)a |
<10 mg/L (30-day geometric mean) <30 mg/L (single sample maximum) |
|||
|
Industrial, commercial, institutional and agricultural onsite reuse (process water, landscape irrigation, dust control, toilet and urinal flushing) |
Graywater and alternative onsite water |
E. coli (public access) |
<20 MPN or CFU/100 mL (30-day geometric mean) <75 MPN or CFU /100 mL (single sample maximum) |
Monthly monitoring |
|
E. coli (restricted public access) |
<200 MPN or CFU /100 mL (30-day geometric mean) <800 MPN or CFU /100 mL (single sample maximum) |
|||
|
E. coli (toilet and urinal flushing) |
<2.2 MPN or CFU /100 mL (30-day geometric mean) <200 MPN or CFU/100 mL (single sample maximum) |
|||
|
Total suspended solids (TSS)a |
<10 mg/L (30-day geometric mean) <30 mg/L (single sample maximum) |
Source = 30 Tex. Admin. Code § 210.82-85
a TSS is only a treatment requirement for use in toilet and urinal flushing.
Upcoming state law or policy
No upcoming onsite non-potable reuse regulations were found for Texas.
References:
Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.
Use of Reclaimed Water, Use of Graywater Systems , 30 Tex. Admin. Code § 210.81-85.
Please contact us at waterreuse@epa.gov if the information on this page needs updating or if this state is updating or planning to update its laws and policies and we have not included that information on the news page.