Summary of Texas' 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.
On this page:
- Technical basis
- Water reuse for impoundments approved for use in Texas
- 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 Texas, 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 where recreational activities without full body contact are anticipated and impoundments where direct human contact is not likely. 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
Texas approves the use of municipal wastewater for impoundment-related reuse applications including the maintenance of impoundments where recreational activities are anticipated and where direct contact is not likely in off-channel ponds. 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. All treated effluent becomes water of the State after discharge. Therefore, all reclaimed water in off-channel ponds require the issuance of both a Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) permit authorization and a water rights permit for both the storage and the end-use of the water. Impoundments where recreational activities without full body contact are anticipated have more stringent performance standards than impoundments where direct human contact is not likely. 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. Fecal coliform and enterococci standards were established by the Texas Department of State Health Services in 1997 (TCEQ, personal communication, November 21, 2022). The E. coli standard was developed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Water Quality Division (TCEQ, personal communication, November 21, 2022). As of November 2022, the TCEQ Water Quality Division is proposing to review and potentially update the performance standard for E. coli during the next revision process of these rules (TCEQ, personal communication, November 21, 2022).
Water reuse for improvements approved for use in Texas
30 Tex. Admin. Code § 210.32 defines the approved water reuse for impoundments for the maintenance of the following:
- Impoundments where recreational activities without full body contact (i.e., wading, fishing) are anticipated even though the water body was not specifically designed for such a use (Type I)
- Impoundments where direct human contact is not likely (Type II)
Water reuse treatment category for impoundments
The various classes of reclaimed water are defined by their respective treatment requirements and applicable performance standards. Texas also allows the use of Type I reclaimed water for any Type II uses related to impoundments (30 Tex. Admin. Code § 210.32). The respective treatment requirements are briefly summarized for reuse applications related to impoundments:
- Type I reclaimed water is intended for applications where human contact with the reclaimed water is likely but where full body contact is unlikely. Required treatment processes (e.g., secondary treatment, disinfection, etc.) are not specified in the regulation but Type I reclaimed water must meet the pathogen and chemical removal requirements outlined in the table.
- Type II reclaimed water is intended for applications where human contact with the reclaimed water is unlikely. Required treatment processes (e.g., secondary treatment, disinfection, etc.) are not specified in the regulation but Type II reclaimed water must meet the pathogen and chemical removal requirements outlined in the table.
Additional context and definitions
Texas defines reclaimed water as “domestic or municipal wastewater which has been treated to a quality suitable for a beneficial use” (30 Tex. Admin. Code § 210.3).
Texas defines a restricted recreational impoundment as a “body of reclaimed water in which recreation is limited to fishing, boating, and other non-contract [sic] recreational activities” (30 Tex. Admin. Code § 210.3).
According to 30 Tex. Admin. Code § 309.13(d), “a wastewater treatment facility surface impoundment may not be located in areas overlying the recharge zones of major or minor aquifers, as defined by the Texas Water Development Board, unless the aquifer is separated from the base of the containment structure by a minimum of three feet of material with a hydraulic conductivity toward the aquifer not greater than 10-7 cm/sec or a thicker interval of more permeable material which provides equivalent or greater retardation of pollutant migration. A synthetic membrane liner may be substituted with a minimum of 40 mils thickness and an underground leak detection system with appropriate sampling points.”
Texas requires the hose bibs and faucets of municipal reclaimed water systems to be designed to prevent connection to a standard water hose and must be painted purple (30 Tex. Admin. Code § 210.25). Any area where reclaimed water is stored or whether hose bibs or faucets exist must either (1) have a sign posted at all storage areas and on all hose bibs and faucets reading, in English and Spanish, “Reclaimed Water, Do Not Drink”, or (2) the area must be secured to prevent public access. Reclaimed water piping must be separated nine feet horizontally from potable water piping and three feet horizontally from sewer lines (for reclaimed water lines that parallel sewer lines). All reclaimed water piping within a building must be colored purple and all piping should be labeled in white with a warning reading “NON-POTABLE WATER”.
Water reuse for impoundments specifications
Summary of Texas' 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)* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Type I reclaimed water (Maintenance of impoundments where recreational activities are anticipated even though the water body was not specifically designed for such a use) |
Municipal wastewater |
5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) or 5-day carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD5) |
5 mg/L |
Type I reclaimed water must be sampled twice per week. |
|
Turbidity |
3 NTU |
|||
|
Fecal coliform or E. coli |
20 CFU/100 mL (30-day geometric mean) 75 CFU/100 mL (single sample maximum) |
|||
|
Enterococci |
4 CFU/100 mL (30-day geometric mean) 9 CFU/100 mL (single sample maximum) |
|||
|
Nitrogen |
None |
Not applicable |
||
|
Phosphorus |
None |
Not applicable |
||
|
Type II reclaimed water (Maintenance of impoundments where direct human contact is not likely) |
Municipal wastewater |
5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) or 5-day carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD5) (for a system other than a pond system)a |
20 mg/L (BOD5) 15 mg/L (CBOD5) |
Type II reclaimed water must be sampled once per week. |
|
5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) (for a pond system)a |
30 mg/L |
|||
|
Turbidity |
3 NTU |
|||
|
Fecal coliform or E. coli |
200 CFU/100 mL (30-day geometric mean) 800 CFU/100 mL (single sample maximum) |
|||
|
Enterococci |
35 CFU/100 mL (30-day geometric mean) 89 CFU/100 mL (single sample maximum) |
|||
|
Nitrogen |
None |
Not applicable |
||
|
Phosphorus |
None |
Not applicable |
Source= 30 Tex. Admin. Code § 210.33
* 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.
a Texas defines a pond system as a “wastewater facility in which primary treatment followed by stabilization ponds are used for secondary treatment” (30 Tex. Admin. Code § 210.33).
Upcoming state law or policy
No upcoming reuse regulations related to impoundments were found for Texas.
References
Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.
Specific Uses of Reclaimed Water, 30 Tex. Admin. Code § 210.32.
Definitions, 30 Tex. Admin. Code § 210.3.
Quality Standards for Using Reclaimed Water, 30 Tex. Admin. Code § 210.33.
Special Design Criteria for Reclaimed Water Systems, 30 Tex. Admin. Code § 210.25.
Unsuitable site characteristics, 30 Tex. Admin. Code §309.13.
Use of Reclaimed Water, 30 Tex. Admin. Code § 210.
TCEQ, personal communication, November 21, 2022.
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.