Contra Costa County, CA Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Referral size trigger
- >15 acres or >120,000 sq ft floor space
- Recycled water defined at
- § 82-30.410
- Referral deadline
- 15 days after complete application
- Agency response window
- 30 days before default approval
- Adopted by
- Ordinance 91-19
Summary
Large Contra Costa County developments, those over fifteen acres or 120,000 square feet of floor space, must be referred to the local water or wastewater agency to decide whether the project needs a dual water system delivering separate recycled or other nonpotable water, under the county's Dual Water Systems chapter.
"Recycled water" means water which, as a result of treatment of wastewater, meets all applicable requirements established by the state regional water quality control board having jurisdiction and regulating the use of recycled water and is suitable for appropriate and approved nonpotable uses. ... All development entitlement applications filed with the community development department for projects which are: in a dual water system area; or greater than fifteen acres; or greater than one hundred twenty thousand square feet in floor space ... shall be referred to the local water or wastewater agency having jurisdiction for determination and designation by the involved agency's of its requirements for dual water systems.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Ordinance Code: Supplement 103).
Full Breakdown
410 as water that, after wastewater treatment, meets every requirement set by the state regional water quality control board with jurisdiction and is suitable for approved nonpotable uses. 402 means two separate, unconnected distribution systems on the same parcel, one carrying potable water for all uses and the other carrying approved nonpotable water, such as recycled water, for uses like agricultural or landscape irrigation, landscape impoundments, industrial process water, and construction water. 408 where a dependable nonpotable supply exists or where distributing one has been found feasible, and within sixty days of that designation the agency must file a precise boundary map with the county's community development department.
802 forces the issue on large projects: any development entitlement application inside a designated dual water system area, or covering more than fifteen acres, or more than 120,000 square feet of floor space, must be referred to the relevant water or wastewater agency within fifteen days so that agency can decide what dual water system requirements apply. 804, the planning agency cannot approve that application until it receives, reviews and considers the agency's written requirements, though if the water agency stays silent for thirty days the planning agency may act anyway.
Violations & Fines
The chapter carries no independent penalty section; its teeth come from Section 82-30.804, which blocks the planning agency from approving a covered development entitlement application until the water or wastewater agency's dual water system requirements are received and considered, so noncompliance stalls or conditions the underlying project approval rather than triggering a separate fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as recycled water under Contra Costa County's code?
Which developments must consider a dual water system?
Can the county approve my project before the water agency responds?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Contra Costa County
California rules heatmap·Compare Contra Costa County to another location·View the California water use rules overview
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