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

Milpitas Municipal Code Section VIII-6-3.00 lists the water uses that are prohibited at all times as "permanent" restrictions, and Subsection 3.07 puts irrigation with potable water off-limits wherever recycled water, reclaimed water, or treated sewage effluent water is available for that purpose. The code defines "Recycled water," "Reclaimed Water," or "Treated Sewage Effluent Water" in Section VIII-6-2.00, Subsection 2.01, as treated or recycled wastewater suitable for non-potable uses such as landscape irrigation and not intended for human consumption. The City Engineer or Public Works Director administers three carve-outs from the recycled-water mandate: irrigation of City Cultural Resources, situations where Title 22 of the California Water Code bars recycled-water use, and other cases the City Engineer or Public Works Director deems inappropriate for recycled water.

Section VIII-6-3.00 also folds in the City's 2020 Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP), so the recycled-water requirement stacks with day-of-week and time-of-day irrigation limits (currently four days a week between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., addresses split by odd/even house number) and with the cooling-tower and car-wash recirculation mandates in Subsections 3.05 and 3.06. Subsection 3.15 exempts water-treatment landscape features, such as green roofs built to satisfy the Municipal Regional Stormwater NPDES Permit No. CAS612008, C.3 Provision, from the related turf-watering-timing prohibitions in 3.11 through 3.13, and Subsection 3.17 allows exceptions where necessary for an immediate health and safety need or to comply with a state or federal permit condition. Enforcement runs through Section VIII-6-5.00, which routes violations of the whole conservation chapter to the City's general penalty and administrative citation provisions.