Summary of New Jersey's Water Reuse Guideline or Regulation for Centralized Non-potable 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 Treated Municipal Wastewater.

On this page:

• Technical basis
• Applications of centralized non-potable reuse approved for use in New Jersey
• Water reuse category/type
• Additional context and definitions
• Centralized non-potable reuse specifications (table)
• Upcoming state law or policy
• References
• Disclaimer

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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 New Jersey, centralized non-potable reuse centralized non-potable reuse The use of recycled water for centralized non-potable reuse where the water does not derive from the same site where it is to be reused. Can include, but is not limited to, toilet flushing, dust control, soil compaction, fire protection, commercial laundries, vehicle washing, street cleaning, snowmaking, and other similar uses. Excludes on-site non-potable water reuse and the use of recycled water for agriculture or landscaping. applications include commercial car washing, fire protection and dust control, among others. The source of water (treated municipal wastewater) 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 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

New Jersey approves the beneficial use of reclaimed water for centralized non-potable reuse applications including fire protection, commercial car washing, dust control, street sweeping and road milling (NJDEP, 2005). 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. Reclaimed Water for Beneficial Reuse (RWBR) programs must be authorized by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) under a New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) permit (NJDEP 2005). Treatment requirements and performance standards are applied for the removal of pathogen and chemical contaminants for centralized non-potable reuse applications. The technical basis for the removal of pathogens and chemicals is not explicitly specified.

Applications of centralized non-potable reuse approved for use in New Jersey

NJDEP (2005) defines the following approved centralized non-potable reuse applications of reclaimed water for beneficial reuse (RWBR) where public exposure is likely (Type I RWBR) and for construction and maintenance operations systems (Type IV RWBR): 

• Commercial car washing (Type I RWBR)
• Fire protection (Type IV RWBR)
• Dust control (Type IV RWBR)
• Street sweeping (Type IV RWBR)
• Road milling (Type IV RWBR)

Water reuse category/type

The various classes of reclaimed water treatment are defined by their respective treatment requirements and applicable performance standards. The respective treatment requirements are briefly summarized for centralized non-potable reuse applications. 

• For Type I RWBR, the treatment requirements are filtration (to reduce TSS levels below 5 mg/L) and disinfection (via chlorine, UV or an approved alternative method like ozone). For chlorine disinfection, a total chlorine residual of 1.0 mg/L must be maintained for a minimum contact time of 15 minutes at peak hourly flow. For UV disinfection, a design UV dose of 100 mJ/cm² under the maximum daily flow must be used.
• For Type IV RWBR, the uniqueness of each construction reuse application prevents the establishment of specific treatment standards and all instances of reuse are reviewed by DEP on a case-by-case basis. 

Additional context and definitions

In New Jersey, reclaimed water for beneficial reuse is defined as “taking what was once considered a waste product, giving it a specialized level of treatment and using the resulting high-quality reclaimed water for beneficial uses” (NJDEP, 2005).

To qualify as Type I Public Access RWBR, the minimum design capacity of the wastewater treatment plant should be 0.1 million gallons per day (NJDEP, 2005).

For public access RWBR, New Jersey requires advisory signs to posted that notify the public of the nature of the reuse in the project area where reuse is practiced (NJDEP, 2005). The use of purple as the color of the signs is encouraged but not required. No cross connections between RWBR delivery pipes and potable water systems are allowed and RWBR delivery pipes cannot be connected into “any stormwater conveyance or pipe that is not the final delivery point prior to final use” (NJDEP, 2005).

Centralized non-potable reuse specifications

Summary of New Jersey's Centralized Non-potable Reuse Specifications

Source = NJDEP (2005)

^* 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 regulations pertaining to centralized non-potable reuse were found for New Jersey.

References:

Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). 2005. Technical Manual for Reclaimed Water for Beneficial Reuse.

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Disclaimers

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.