Abilene, TX Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)

Section 32-142 of the water conservation plan folds reclaimed water into the City's drought rules rather than exempting it. Subsection (c) confirms Abilene draws on "an extensive nonpotable reuse program" and "an indirect potable water reuse system" as alternative supplies, and the City encourages customers to shift to those sources during shortages; ordinary well water and other alternative sources are excused from the watering-day schedule entirely. Reclaimed water is treated differently. until 12:00 midnight, regardless of a customer's individually assigned watering day. That timing rule holds for both treated effluent supplied under a reclaimed-water contract and for raw surface water drawn from Lake Kirby or Lake Fort Phantom Hill under such a contract; subsection (d) makes clear that anyone diverting raw water from those two lakes without a reclaimed-water contract is instead bound by the full potable-water schedule in §§ 32-144 and 32-145.

Beyond the irrigation-hour rule, all other uses of reclaimed water in the City must follow Title 30 of the Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 210, the state reuse-water rule, and the specific terms of the City's own reuse permit, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Authorization No. R10334-004. That authorization governs where and how the City's treated effluent can be distributed and used across the service area.