Prepare for permits

When looking at recycled water as an irrigation option, there are two things to think about: municipal regulations and state regulations. That is, of course, if recycled water use is allowed in your state. “The rules vary state by state very specifically,” says Brian Vinchesi, president of Irrigation Consulting, Inc. “Some, like Florida and Arizona, are very progressive and others are very restrictive.”

For example, while working on irrigation at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. there were special requirements and restrictions for the use of nonpotable water. Any water sprayed above ground had to be disinfected with either UV treatment or chlorination, according to local laws. “You’ll see that in some locales and not in others,” says Vinchesi, past president and fellow of the American Society of Irrigation Consultants. “One of the problems when you disinfect is that you have to clean the water first, so your filtering requirements are much more strict and expensive. It’s not a big deal that you have to disinfect but the filtering you need to do before is the problem.” And if the company had wanted to use graywater (residential wastewater), all application would have had to be subsurface.

The mall is still undergoing construction but the effort has already gotten a lot of media attention, and has received an ASIC Excellence in Irrigation Award. The $22-million project is extremely high profile, and complicated by the fact that none of the valve boxes, pump stations or other controls were allowed to be above ground where tourists might see them from the top of the Washington Monument. Even the cisterns that collect rainwater had to be located underground.

Besides filtration requirements and permits, there are additional considerations. In most cities, there are certain areas that can use recycled water and certain ones that can’t. In North Carolina, a buffer is required around existing wells, and in many states, buffers must be present around private property. Soil tests need to be done and plans must be approved. Emergency plans must be put in place and water quality tests must be performed.

These permit and zoning issues can be difficult to keep track of, and things can change. “Probably the thing we see effecting permitting the most is plants moving. In Boston, if we’re in the sidewalk, we need a permit for that and permits for anything that goes planter to planter or tree to tree, and that’s getting changed all the time,” Vinchesi says.

That’s why he recommends coordinating with local and state authorities and other teams working on a project. The water supplier, local officials, architects and engineers all need to be on the same page. “Get your coordination done up front as quickly as possible while people are still working and before the drawings are done and people don’t want to change anything,” Vinchesi says. “Also involve the person that’s using the water because there are limitations and they have to be aware of the limitations.”


Navigating the red tape

Here are three tips for dealing with the permit and zoning issues that come along with recycled water use:

1) Stay up to date with permits, both before and after the planning phases. “Requirements change all the time,” Vinchesi says. In fact, Irrigation Consultants, Inc. once started a project and when they returned to finish the paperwork, they found that the town had changed its regulations on how pipes cross the streets. But by sitting down and talking to the authorities, the company was able to solve the problem amicably.

2) Consider both the municipal and the state rules when it comes to permits. The strictest rules are the ones you need to worry about. In California, there are nine separate regional water quality control boards, all with separate regulations, so it’s important to research and find out all of the requirements.

3) Involve all of the members of your team, including the client and the water supplier, as early on as possible. For example, the state of Arizona recommends scheduling a pre-application conference with the state department of environmental quality to discuss permitting issues.