Garland, TX Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governs
- reuse of treated sewage effluent
- Approval needed
- City Health Department review
- Cross connection
- never allowed with potable supply
- Piping
- separate, dedicated system required
- Quality standard
- meets/exceeds TAC Chapter 210
- Current reuse
- plant washdown, irrigation, NTMWD
Summary
Garland lets treated sewage effluent be reused as industrial process water once the City Health Department approves the added treatment needed for that specific use. The reclaimed water can never touch the potable supply through any cross connection and must run through its own dedicated pipes from treatment to point of use.
Sewage effluent may be used as an industrial process water when, in addition to any specifications required by the industry using or intending to use such sewage effluent or by any public agency, such waters meet the following requirements: (1) Such water, after treatment as sewage, shall be considered as a raw water source and shall receive such additional treatment as may be required by the City Health Department to provide safe water under the conditions of the specific use. (2) The reclaimed water shall under no circumstances or conditions be connected with any potable water supply by any form of cross connection, and shall be conveyed by an entirely separate and distinct piping system from its source and treatment to the process for which it is intended.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4862189; v40 updated 2026-05-19).
Full Breakdown
122 governs reuse of sewage effluent citywide: after treatment as sewage, the water is treated as a raw water source that must receive whatever additional treatment the City Health Department requires to make it safe for the specific industrial use proposed, and it can never be connected to a potable supply through any form of cross connection, requiring an entirely separate and distinct piping system from source and treatment to the process it serves. 117, as reclaimed municipal wastewater treated to meet or exceed the minimum standards of Chapter 210 of the Texas Administrative Code and used for lawn irrigation, industrial purposes, or other nonpotable purposes.
120(10) documents that Garland already reuses treated wastewater plant effluent at its two wastewater treatment facilities for plant washdown, on-site plant irrigation, and chlorination/dechlorination, and diverts additional treated effluent to a local power plant and to the North Texas Municipal Water District, with the director tasked to keep identifying further reuse opportunities.
Violations & Fines
Tying reclaimed water into the potable system through any cross connection violates § 22.122 outright and is addressed through the city's cross-connection control program, which can require corrective plumbing work before service continues. The City Health Department can also refuse to approve a reuse application, or demand additional treatment, before effluent is released for an industrial use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business use Garland's treated wastewater instead of tap water?
Can reclaimed water share pipes with drinking water?
Where does Garland actually use reclaimed water today?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Garland
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Garland to another location·View the Texas water use rules overview
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Recycled Water Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Dallas County handle recycled water rules.