On December 19, 2023, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) will vote on a resolution to adopt the final Direct Potable Reuse (DPR) regulations. A copy of the meeting agenda, the Board agenda item and the Resolution to adopt the DPR regulations are enclosed (notice_sbddw-23-001_dpr_101923
SWRCB Resolution to Adopt DPR Regulations ). The SWRCB meeting begins at 9:00 am.
The SWRCB meeting will be webcast and can be viewed at either of the following links:
https://www.youtube.com/user/BoardWebSupport/
https://video.calepa.ca.gov
The agenda item before the vote on adopting the final DPR regulations, will be the SWRCB’s vote on adopting the Cross Connection Control Policy Handbook as final.
Background
AB 574, signed into law in October 2017, required that the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) adopt uniform criteria for Direct Potable Reuse (DPR) by December 31, 2023. “Direct potable reuse is the planned introduction of recycled water either directly into a public water system or into a raw water supply immediately upstream of a water treatment plant.” The bill required that before adopting the criteria, the SWRCB submit the criteria to an Expert Panel for review.
In June 2021, the SWRCB and the National Water Research Institute (NWRI) convened an expert review panel as required by Section 13561.2 of the Water Code to review DDW’s proposed DPR criteria. The charge of the expert panel was to review the proposed criteria (regulations) for DPR and make a finding as to whether, in its expert opinion, the proposed criteria would adequately protect public health. The Expert Panel held public meetings on August 24 and 25, 2021, December 1, 2021; January 28, 2022; and February 28, 2022. In March 2022, the DPR Expert Panel released a draft memorandum presenting their review and recommendations of the draft DPR criteria. DDW staff prepared and posted a response to the Expert Panel’s draft memo. In July 2022, the SWRCB posted the Memorandum of Findings: Expert Panel Preliminary Findings and Recommendations on Draft DPR Criteria. “The Panel’s Preliminary….Finding is that the Early Draft of Anticipated Criteria for Direct Potable Reuse dated August 17, 2021, adequately protects public health.”
On July 20, 2023, the SWRCB published the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the proposed DPR regulations. A public hearing was held on September 7, 2023, and the deadline to submit written comments was September 8, 2023. On October 19, 2023, the SWRCB posted a “Notice of Public Availability of Changes to Proposed Direct Potable Reuse Regulations and Addition of Material to the Rulemaking Record.” Public comments were due by November 6, 2023. A copy of the October 19, 2023 notice is also enclosed and shows the final changes to the proposed DPR regulations.
