Lynwood, CA Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)

Lynwood folds recycled water into its general cross-connection control program rather than writing a separate recycled-water ordinance. Section 14-1.66 sets the minimum backflow device required at a connection based on the hazard involved, and subsection (c) addresses recycled water specifically in three tiers. Where the city's potable water system is used to supplement a recycled water supply, the property needs the highest level of protection, an air gap separation (AG) device, which under § 14-1.63(a) must be built at least double the diameter of the supply pipe and never less than one inch, measured vertically from the flood rim of the receiving vessel to the supply pipe. Where recycled water is used but is not interconnected with the potable system, a reduced pressure principle (RP) device is the minimum under § 14-1.66(c)(2). Residences using recycled water for landscape irrigation through an approved dual-plumbed system need only the lightest protection, a double check valve assembly (DC), under § 14-1.66(c)(3).

Whichever device applies, § 14-1.64 puts the public works department or city engineer in charge of determining the specific type, design and layout required at each premises, at the customer's expense, and installation is a condition of receiving water service at all. Section 14-1.69 then requires the device to be tested at least annually, or more often if the health agency or city decides it is necessary, by a tester who has demonstrated competency to the city, with any defect corrected within three days of discovery. A property that skips a required recycled-water backflow device, or lets one go untested, faces the same enforcement the rest of the cross-connection program uses.