City of Santa Clara Guidelines for Recycled Water Use

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City of Santa Clara General Guidelines for Recycled Water Use

The following guidelines are provided by the City of Santa Clara for assistance in the correct use of recycled water. These are derived from requirements enacted by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board and from State regulations (Department of Health Services (Title 22). These guidelines are intended to provide the basic requirements for use of recycled water for landscape irrigation. Additional information is included in the Water Department Rules and Regulations which are available upon request. To operate your system in compliance with current regulations, at a minimum you must:

Provide Notice To The Public

Conspicuous notification signs must be posted at adequate intervals around the area to insure people know recycled water is being used to irrigate the landscape and this water is not potable. Signs should state "RECYCLED WATER" and include the statement: "RECYCLED WATER " in English and Spanish. Additional signage may be required in certain circumstances.

Equipment Labels, Signs And Notice

PIPE: All buried piping supplied with recycled water and continuously under pressure shall be marked with warning tape or with stenciled lettering to identify it as carrying recycled water. On new construction, the irrigation system piping beyond the control valves shall also be labeled. Warning tape shall be 3" wide and shall have the words "CAUTION: RECYCLED WATER LINE" printed in black on a purple background color. Stenciled pipe shall be tinted purple and shall be marked "Do Not Drink " in 5/8" minimum letters, repeated every 12" (pre-stenciled purple PVC pipe is commercially available).

All above grade piping and/or pumping appurtenances shall be colored purple and shall be labeled with the words "RECYCLED WATER".

Irrigation System Valves And Controllers

All irrigation system controllers shall have warning labels installed as supplied by the Water Department. All irrigation system valves (gate, manual control, electric control, pressure reducing, and/or pressure relief) shall be installed in boxes below grade and shall have labels or tags permanently affixed with the words "RECYCLED WATER". No hose bibs are allowed connected to a recycled water system. Irrigation hose connections are allowed via a "quick connect" coupling if installed within a below-grade box or other enclosure and provided with proper warning labels.

Use Of Potable Water

Any property where recycled water is used shall have an approved back-flow device installed on the potable water service. If recycled water is to be supplemented with potable water, there must be an air gap separation at all times between the recycled water and potable water supplies.

Separation Between Water, Sewer And Recycled Water Pipes

For recycled water mains located in a public right-of-way there must be a ten (10) foot separation for each between water, sewer and recycled water mains. For a description of alternatives see Water Department Standard Drawing W-2550-2. On-site separation requires recycled piping to be four (4) feet away from potable piping when parallel and one (1) foot lower than potable water piping where they cross.

Public Contact And Approved Application Areas

Public contact shall be minimized by proper design of irrigation system to prevent run-off, excessive ponding, over-spray or wind drift of irrigation water to areas where it is not permitted or not under control of the owner.
Recycled water shall not be applied to public access sidewalks, roadways, passing vehicles, drinking water facilities or enter areas where food is handled or eaten.
Irrigation shall be scheduled to be applied at night, between the hours of 9 pm and 6 am.
Any day-time use of recycled water (between the hours of 6 am and 9 pm) shall be under direct control and observation by an individual familiar with these regulations.

New Development/Retrofit Requirements

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