Summary of Nevada's Water Reuse Guideline or Regulation for Impoundments
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 Treated Municipal Wastewater.
- Technical basis
- Water reuse for impoundments approved for use in Nevada
- Water reuse treatment category for impoundments
- Additional context and definitions
- Water reuse for impoundments 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 Nevada, water reused for impoundmentsThe use of recycled water in an impoundment (body of water within an enclosure). This includes both unrestricted (use of reclaimed water in an impoundment in which no limitations are imposed on body-contact water recreation activities) and restricted (use of reclaimed water in an impoundment where body contact is restricted). Includes recreational impoundments, aesthetic impoundments, and ornamental impoundments with and without public access. Excludes landscape impoundments and storage of recycled water intended for other specific reuse applications (e.g., for agricultural irrigation). include impoundments in which swimming is prohibited. The source of water treated municipal wastewater Treated wastewater effluent discharged from a centralized wastewater treatment plant of any size. Other terms referring to this source of water include domestic wastewater, treated wastewater effluent, reclaimed water, and treated sewage. is specified by the state as municipal wastewater. The write-up below 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.
Technical basis
Nevada approves the use of municipal wastewater for impoundments in areas where public access is permitted, restricted and prohibited and where human contact with the reclaimed water is both reasonably expected or not expected to occur (NDEP 2018). 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. Impoundments in which human contact with the reclaimed water can reasonably be expected to occur have more stringent performance standards, compared to impoundments in which human contact does not occur. Treatment requirements and performance standards are applied for the removal of microbial contaminants and other relevant indicators related to impoundments and are summarized in the table. The technical basis for developing the specifications and/or removals of microbial contaminants and other relevant indicators is not explicitly specified.
Water reuse for impoundments approved for use in Nevada
Nev. Admin. Code § 445A defines the following approved water reuse for impoundments:
- An impoundment in which swimming is prohibited even if public access is unrestricted and human contact with the reclaimed water can reasonably be expected to occur (Reuse Category A)
- An impoundment if public access is restricted and human contact with the reclaimed water cannot reasonably be expected to occur (Reuse Category C)
- An impoundment if public access is prohibited, all human activities involving contact with the reclaimed water are prohibited and human contact with the reclaimed water does not occur (Reuse Category D)
Water reuse treatment category for impoundments
All reuse categories require, at minimum, secondary treatment that achieves a pH of 6–9, a TSS concentration of ≤30 mg/L and a BOD5 concentration of ≤30 mg/L. The reuse categories differ by their bacteriological quality requirements.
- Reuse Category A has a total coliform requirement of ≤2.2 CFU or MPN/100 mL (30-day average) and ≤23 CFU or MPN/100 mL (single sample maximum).
- Reuse Category C has a fecal coliform requirement of ≤23 CFU or MPN/100 mL (30-day average) and ≤240 CFU or MPN/100 mL (single sample maximum).
- Reuse Category D has a fecal coliform requirement of ≤240 CFU or MPN/100 mL (30-day average) and ≤400 CFU or MPN/100 mL (single sample maximum).
Additional context and definitions
In Nevada, reclaimed water is defined as “sewage that has been treated by a physical, biological, or chemical process, which is intended for a use defined in Nev. Admin. Code § 445A.276 and § 445A.2711, inclusive, and that meets the corresponding water quality criteria for the specified use.” (Nev. Admin. Code § 445A).
Nevada defines an impoundment as a lake, reservoir or lined holding basin (Nev. Admin. Code § 445A).
Nevada requires signs to be posted along the outer perimeter of the area of municipal reclaimed water use that warn the public that reclaimed water is in use in the area and that contact with the reclaimed water should be avoided (Nev. Admin. Code § 445A). The pipe infrastructure conveying the reclaimed water must be identified by color marking or a metal tag and all reclaimed water outlets, like faucets and hose connections, must be identified at the point of use.
Water reuse for impoundments specifications
Summary of Nevada's Water Reuse for Impoundments Specifications
| Recycled Water Class/Category (Approved Uses) | Source Water Type | Water Quality Parameter | Specification | Sampling/Monitoring Requirements (Frequency of monitoring; site/ location of sample; quantification methods)* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Reuse Category A (Impoundment where swimming is prohibited even if public access is unrestricted and human contact with reclaimed water can reasonably be expected to occur) |
Municipal wastewater |
Same pH, BOD5 and TSS requirements as Reuse Category D water. |
||
|
Total coliform |
≤2.2 CFU or MPN/100 mL (30-day geometric mean) ≤23 CFU or MPN/100 mL (single sample maximum) |
Reclaimed water must meet these bacteriological quality requirements prior to the reuse activity |
||
|
Nitrogen |
Not specified |
Not specified |
||
|
Phosphorus |
Not specified |
Not specified |
||
|
Reuse Category C (Impoundment if public access is restricted and human contact with reclaimed water cannot reasonably be expected to occur) |
Municipal wastewater |
Same pH, BOD5 and TSS requirements as Reuse Category D water. |
||
|
Fecal coliform |
≤23 CFU or MPN/100 mL (30-day geometric mean) ≤240 CFU or MPN/100 mL (single sample maximum) |
Reclaimed water must meet these bacteriological quality requirements prior to the reuse activity |
||
|
Nitrogen |
Not specified |
Not specified |
||
|
Phosphorus |
Not specified |
Not specified |
||
|
Reuse Category D (Impoundment if public access is prohibited, all human activities involving contact with reclaimed water are prohibited and human contact with reclaimed water does not occur) |
Municipal wastewater |
pH |
6–9 (30-day average) |
After secondary treatment |
|
5-day inhibited biological oxygen demand (BOD5) |
≤30 mg/L (30-day average) |
|||
|
Total suspended solids (TSS) |
≤30 mg/L (30-day average) |
|||
|
Fecal coliform |
≤240 CFU or MPN/100 mL (30-day geometric mean) ≤400 CFU or MPN/100 mL (single sample maximum) |
Reclaimed water must meet these requirements prior to the reuse activity |
||
|
Nitrogen |
Not specified |
Not specified |
||
|
Phosphorus |
Not specified |
Not specified |
||
Source= Nev. Admin. Code § 445A
* Information about sampling and monitoring requirements such as frequency, site and quantification methods not specifically listed in the table was not explicitly specified in the State-specific regulations.
Upcoming state law or policy
No upcoming reuse regulations related to impoundments were found for Nevada.
References
Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.
Water Controls, Nev. Admin. Code § 445A.
Please contact us at [email protected] 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.