Butte County, CA Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)

Chapter 19B, adopted by Ordinance No. 4078 on April 22, 2014, regulates wastewater ponds used to hold recycled water meeting Title 22 disinfection standards. Section 19B-4 restricts every wastewater pond in the unincorporated area to one exclusively used for holding recycled water and approved under the chapter, and deems any unapproved pond a public nuisance that may be abated. Section 19B-5 requires, before construction, Waste Discharge Requirements from the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, a Use Permit processed under Chapter 24, environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act, and a management plan approved by the Local Enforcement Agency (the county Environmental Health Division) and the Regional Board covering odor and vector control, safety, overflow prevention, and emergency response; the Enforcement Agency also verifies the applicant's technical, managerial, and financial competence before issuing a renewable operating permit that must be renewed annually.

Section 19B-6 sets minimum design flow at 2,500 gallons per day, or the flow from eight single-family residences, for residential development, and 1,000 gallons per day for commercial development, with a narrower exception the Planning Commission may approve through the Use Permit process. Section 19B-7 requires at least two feet of freeboard measured from the pond's lowest rim, sized to withstand a 100-year rainfall year followed by a normal year without overflow. Section 19B-9 sets minimum setbacks of 100 feet to a floodplain, well, lake, or perennial stream (200 feet in a watershed protection district), 50 feet to an ephemeral stream, and 50 feet to a property line.