Pasco, WA Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- PMC 28.24.090(2)
- Plan approval required from
- Dept. of Ecology and Dept. of Health
- Surface spreading standard
- RCW 90.46.080, RCW 90.46.010(10)
- Direct injection standard
- RCW 90.46.042
- Applies within
- Designated aquifer recharge areas
Summary
In Pasco's aquifer recharge areas, reclaimed water reuse projects must follow the adopted water and sewer comprehensive plans approved by the Departments of Ecology and Health. Surface spreading must meet state groundwater recharge criteria, and direct injection needs its own state-authorized standards before the city allows the project.
(2) Spreading or Injection of Reclaimed Water. Water reuse projects for reclaimed water must be in accordance with the adopted water or sewer comprehensive plans that have been approved by the Departments of Ecology and Health.
(a) Surface spreading must meet the ground water recharge criteria given in RCW 90.46.080 and 90.46.010(10).
(b) Direct injection must be in accordance with the standards developed by authority of RCW 90.46.042.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 4837, passed May 4, 2026).
Full Breakdown
24 regulates activities inside the city's critical aquifer recharge areas, the zones where groundwater used for drinking supply is most vulnerable to contamination from surface activity. 090(2) singles out reclaimed water projects for their own performance standard: any water reuse project involving reclaimed water has to conform to the city's adopted water or sewer comprehensive plans, and those plans must already carry approval from both the Washington Department of Ecology and the Washington Department of Health before the city can sign off. The section then splits the method of reuse into two tracks.
010(10), the state reclaimed water statute's technical standards for how treated water can be applied to land without degrading the aquifer. 042, a separate track because injection bypasses the soil's natural filtering the way surface spreading does not. 010: keeping contaminants out of the aquifer that supplies the city's wells. 090(3) cross-references the state and federal rules that apply to other aquifer-sensitive uses, from underground storage tanks under WAC 173-360 to on-site sewage systems under Chapter 246-272 WAC, underscoring that reclaimed water reuse in Pasco is treated as one line item in a broader groundwater-protection scheme rather than a standalone permit category.
Violations & Fines
Pasco's Community and Economic Development Department reviews aquifer recharge area activities as part of the development permit process; a reclaimed water project proposed without the required, already-state-approved comprehensive plan backing is not eligible for city sign-off under Chapter 28.24. Because the standard incorporates state law by reference, a project that fails the RCW 90.46.080/90.46.010(10) surface spreading criteria or the RCW 90.46.042 injection standards is also a violation of the underlying state reclaimed water statute, which the Department of Ecology and Department of Health can separately enforce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a developer spread reclaimed water on land in Pasco?
Does Pasco treat injection differently from surface spreading?
Why does Pasco regulate reclaimed water under its aquifer recharge chapter?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pasco
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