Bakersfield operates Wastewater Treatment Plants 2 and 3 producing tertiary-treated recycled water used primarily for agricultural irrigation, oil-field operations, and limited landscape irrigation under California Title 22 standards.
Bakersfield Wastewater Treatment Plant 3 in southwest Bakersfield supplies recycled water to nearby farms and approved oil-field secondary recovery operations through the 2800 Acres irrigation system. Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations governs recycled-water quality, signage, and cross-connection prevention. Direct potable reuse is not currently practiced. Customers using recycled water must maintain purple-pipe markings, prevent cross-connections with potable plumbing, and post advisory signs where the public could encounter spray. The city does not have widespread residential purple-pipe service.
Cross-connection violations or unauthorized recycled-water use trigger fines up to 5,000 dollars per day under California Health and Safety Code enforcement.
See how Bakersfield's recycled water rules rules stack up against other locations.
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