Pierce County, WA Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Utility purpose
- Establish reclaimed water services, PCC 7.10.010
- Definition source
- WAC 173-219-010, via PCC 7.10.030.G
- Permit fee (2026)
- $230.00 initial installation and testing
- Annual fee (2026)
- $230.00 cross-connection testing
- 2027 fee
- $253.00 for each
- Code basis
- Uniform Plumbing Code, PCC 17C.10.010.E
- No-permit penalty
- Misdemeanor, up to $1,000/90 days
Summary
Pierce County's Water Utility, created by PCC 7.10.010, exists in part "to establish reclaimed water services to protect the environment," with "Reclaimed Water" defined by cross-reference to WAC 173-219-010 at PCC 7.10.030.G. Anyone installing a reclaimed water system in unincorporated Pierce County needs a plumbing permit, with a $230.00 fee (2026) for initial installation and testing and another $230.00 for annual cross-connection testing.
This Chapter creates a Utility to plan, design, acquire, consolidate, construct, manage, operate, improve, and maintain public water supply systems within Pierce County. The purpose of the Utility is to preserve and utilize existing Pierce County Planning and Public Works water rights, to provide safe and reliable water to Pierce County residents who are served by under-resourced or inadequate public water systems, to consolidate existing public water systems for greater efficiency, and to establish reclaimed water services to protect the environment.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2026-515, and legislation passed through May 26, 2026).
Full Breakdown
010, adopted by Ordinance 2024-532, creates the Pierce County Water Utility within the Planning and Public Works Department and lists "establish reclaimed water services to protect the environment" as one of the Utility's four founding purposes, alongside preserving county water rights, serving under-resourced water systems, and consolidating existing public water systems. G states that "'Reclaimed Water' shall have the meaning defined in WAC 173-219-010, as now or hereinafter amended," the same section that defines "Public Water System" and "Satellite System Management Agency" by reference to the state Department of Health water rules in WAC 246-290.
00 for each in 2027). Reclaimed water in Pierce County is therefore not a stand-alone permit program; it sits inside the Water Utility's mission statement and the plumbing permit and cross-connection testing system that already covers backflow devices, gray water, and rainwater harvesting systems in the same fee table.
Violations & Fines
Installing or operating a reclaimed water system without the required plumbing permit and annual cross-connection test falls under the construction code's general enforcement scheme at PCC 17C.10.050: doing prohibited work without a permit is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000.00 or 90 days in jail, or both, with each day of continued violation a separate offense, and the Building Official may also assess a civil penalty of up to $1,000.00 per violation under the same Section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Pierce County have its own reclaimed water rules?
Do I need a permit to install a reclaimed water system?
Is there a recurring fee for reclaimed water systems?
What happens if I skip the permit for a reclaimed water system?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pierce County
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