Direct Potable Reuse for Los Angeles County: Law and Policy Recommendations for Moving Forward

The Challenge

Direct Potable Reuse (DPR) is a water recycling technique that uses treated wastewater as a source of drinking water. The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) of California is currently tasked with developing regulations for DPR by the end of 2023. In this project, UCLA researchers focus on ways to clear the legal path toward the adoption of DPR in Los Angeles County and California. The ultimate goal of this project is to facilitate the adoption of DPR in a manner that is timely, secure and protective of public health.    

The Solution

Researchers studied California’s progress on DPR to date by examining the legal framework that exists around potential DPR projects and developing future recommendations for state policymakers. So far, they drafted a report covering the following topics for Los Angeles County and California: 

• Review of California’s progress on DPR 
• Discussion on the existing legal framework on DPR and various legal ambiguities 
• Discussion on what DPR could look like in Los Angeles County  
• Recommendations for more transparency and public engagement in the regulatory development processes to foster public confidence in DPR  
• Recommendations for statewide regulations  

Results

Draft recommendations for the State Water Resources Control Board include: 

• Create an inclusive, transparent process for developing statewide DPR guidelines and for approving individual projects:  
  • A public, detailed regulatory timeline outlining the necessary steps between now and 2023’s adoption of uniform criteria. 
  • Robust, early and frequent public education and participation as part of the regulatory process. 
  • Guidance clarifying all permitted and other requirements for DPR projects, well in advance of uniform criteria.  
• Resolve legal ambiguities:  
  • Guidance on how change-in-use permits for the recycling of water historically discharged downstream will be addressed.  
  • Clarified definition of a public water system to resolve active water treatment facilities’ permitting compliance obligations in a DPR context.   

Next Steps

Due to the technical nature of DPR, researchers are seeking personnel with a highly technical background to review their draft report and work directly on the monitoring requirements and potential recommendations for treatment level(s). The research team is expecting to create a few more recommendations, including those related to handling water rights issues, for the State Water Resources Control Board. 

Additional Outcomes to Date

Additional funding was received to support a Postgraduate Fellow, Garrett Lenahan from the UCLA Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.