Survey Shows Recycled Water Use Continues to Climb

Submitted by Lisa Lien-Mager on Mon, 04/18/2011 - 3:04pm

An estimated 723,845 acre-feet of recycled water was being used in California in 2009, up from 655,621 in 2007, according to a survey released last week by the State Water Resources Control Board.

The survey, which included publicly-owned wastewater and water recycling agencies only, found an increase of more than 231,853 acre-feet in recycled water use over the amount reported in 2001, the first year of the survey.

The 2009 survey results show that agricultural irrigation accounted for about 29% of recycled water use, or 210,566 acre-feet, compared with 46%, or 240,952 acre-feet, in 2001. About 8% was used for seawater barriers in 2009, compared with 5% in 2001. About 21% of recycled water use, or 148,638 acre-feet, was categorized as “other” in the 2009 survey.

The SWRCB conducts the survey periodically to gauge progress toward meeting the goals identified in the board’s 2008 Strategic Plan Update and its 2009 Recycled Water Policy. The Strategic Plan Update set a goal of achieving 1.25 million acre-feet of recycled water use by 2012, while the Recycled Water Policy set a goal of achieving 1.52 million acre-feet by 2020.