Discussions underway on how to implement proposed recycled water policy

Water recycling agencies and State Water Board staff have begun discussing how to implement a proposed statewide policy that would require recycled water to be monitored using bioanalytical cell screening assays.

At an all-day workshop at SCCWRP in June and a public hearing in Sacramento a week later, water recycling agencies and other stakeholders received clarification about the policy amendment, which would incorporate bioanalytical screening into routine monitoring of certain recycled-water applications in California, including groundwater recharge for indirect potable reuse.

The policy amendment was released in draft form by State Water Board staff in May; the State Water Board will consider adopting it as early as December 2018.

SCCWRP and its partners are working to adapt bioanalytical screening for water-quality monitoring applications; this prototype technology has the potential to provide a rapid, cost-effective approach to comprehensively screen recycled water for major classes of bioactive contaminants, including unknown chemicals that exert similar biological impacts on aquatic organisms.

At the SCCWRP workshop, which attracted about 150 participants, recycled water agencies expressed support for a phased implementation of bioanalytical monitoring, plus formation of a bioanalytical advisory group that would provide guidance on best-practices approaches for end users. SCCWRP already has begun exploring how to put together the advisory group.