Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that aims to increase the use of recycled water throughout the state.
Senate Bill 31 by Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, allows businesses, homes and government agencies to increase their use of recycled water for irrigation and other uses.
The idea is to cut back on the use of drinking water for things that don’t require potable water, help the state manage its water supply and drought response, and re-direct wastewater discharges that go into the ocean.
“SB 31 is a pragmatic approach that will protect fresh water supplies by expanding the use of recycled water for irrigation and commercial uses,” McNerney said in a news release. “It will also help safeguard the state during devastating droughts caused by climate change.”
The new law will help the state meet its goal of using 1.8 million acre-feet of recycled water by 2040, according to McNerney’s statement. California currently uses about 700,000 acre-feet per year across all sectors for things like irrigation and groundwater recharge.
Recycled water is sewage that has been treated in a wastewater facility and that meets various levels of treatment criteria depending on its intended use, according to the State Water Resources Control Board.
The new law takes effect Jan. 1, 2026 and will allow parks to expand the use of recycled water, will reduce restrictions for using it on decorative bodies of water, will protect homeowners’ associations from having to install new plumbing systems when using recycled water and will allow food handling and processing companies to use it for toilets and urinals or for outdoor irrigation under certain conditions, according to McNerney’s office.
The legislation was sponsored by WateReuse California, a trade association whose members include water agencies around the state.
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