California has taken a significant step in water management by approving new regulations for direct potable reuse. This move, aimed at enhancing water sustainability, marks a departure from the traditional indirect potable reuse method.
The approval follows over a decade of rigorous work to ensure the safety and public health protection of this method. The board has also mandated a follow-up report in a year to assess any new scientific and technological developments that might impact the implementation of these rules.
“We’ve been working on these regulations for over 10 years now, making sure that it’s absolutely protective of public health,” Darrin Polhemus, deputy director of the board’s division of drinking water, said at a recent hearing, according to The Hill.
Utah's Water Reuse Bill Impacts Great Salt Lake
Utah's HB349, passed in March to safeguard the Great Salt Lake, has spurred an increase in water reuse applications. The bill prevents the Division of Water Rights from approving any new water reuse applications for projects that would have otherwise discharged to the Great Salt Lake or its tributary rivers, but it included an exemption for applications filed
before Nov. 1.
In response, state regulators have seen 45 water reuse applications filed since March, with all but one coming from counties inside the Great Salt Lake's watershed. This influx of applications has some state officials worried that the reliable treated effluent supply to the the imperiled lake could take a significant hit.
Feds Agree to Invest $295 Million for Colorado River Water Conservation
The Biden administration, in collaboration with several California water agencies, has signed agreements to invest $295 million in conserving water in the Colorado River system. These agreements — part of an effort to combat drought and climate change challenges — focus on saving up to 643,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead by 2025.
California, which has one of the highest priority water rights in the Colorado River system, receives an annual allocation of 4.4 million acre-feet of water. This collaboration underscores a unified approach involving federal, state, Tribal and local entities in addressing the region's drought crisis.
