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

Reclaimed water in Austin runs through Title 25, Chapter 25-9, Article 4, a separate system from the potable water and wastewater utilities. Sec. 25-9-383 gives the director of the Water and Wastewater Utility discretion to extend reclaimed water mains as the distribution system grows and lets the director refuse service if it would be detrimental to the potable water system, if treated wastewater supply cannot meet the anticipated use, if fees go unpaid, if service would not benefit the City, or if the proposed use is inappropriate for reclaimed water.

An applicant for a subdivision plat, building permit, site plan, or water connection can request reclaimed water under Sec. 25-9-384, and the director reviews and may site-visit the property under Sec. 25-9-385. Before construction, a user must submit design drawings for approval under Sec. 25-9-386 and install a backflow prevention assembly on the service line before the director may provide service under Sec. 25-9-387; storage facilities must meet 30 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 210. Approved uses under Sec. 25-9-393 include turf and landscape irrigation, non-food industrial processes, non-residential toilet and urinal flushing, construction activities, vehicle washing, and cooling towers, but a user may not sell, trade, or transfer reclaimed water off-site, and reclaimed water may never be discharged into the air or across property lines without a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality permit.

Service runs on a signed reclaimed water agreement under Sec. 25-9-389 in which the user holds the City harmless for onsite operation, and the City may discontinue reclaimed and potable water service together if the user violates the article, fails to pay, tampers with the service, or cross-connects with a potable source under Sec. 25-9-390.