Wholly H2o - California's Integrated Water Reuse Management Center

Authored by Sonia Diermayer

At the state and local level many different legal instruments are used to further the goal of water conservation.

Authored by Sonia Diermayer

As of late 2009, California has no statewide regulations in place specifically related to rainwater harvesting. This is in contrast to some other states, where there is some type of state-level regulation, either prohibiting or permitting it. Colorado and Utah have had laws actually prohibiting rainwater capture, because it could infringe upon the water rights of a party downstream!

Authored by Sonia Diermayer

Stormwater that runs off of natural or manmade landscape surfaces around buildings is subject to a slew of state and local laws. These describe everyone’s responsibilities for dealing with stormwater, from private property owners to public agencies.

Authored by Sonia Diermayer

California has long had provisions in the state building code that theoretically allowed citizens to install and use graywater systems. But the regulations were overly restrictive and complicated, resulting in very few systems being legally permitted, yet an estimated 1.7 million graywater systems being built clandestinely statewide.

Authored by Sonia Diermayer

Statutes are Laws written and enacted by the California Legislature. These tend to be directives that express intentions and delegate the authority for more detailed regulation and implementation to state agencies and departments.

Authored by Sonia Diermayer

Nearly all water reuse strategies featured on Wholly H2o involve plumbing, landscaping, drainage and wastewater systems. In many cases the laws will require you to obtain permits before beginning construction.

Authored by Sonia Diermayer

The public and private sectors in California are beginning to actively seek water conservation and reuse practices. Due to drought, overuse and degradation of existing water supplies (most notably the San Francisco Bay Delta and the Colorado River), along with the effects of global climate change,

Authored by Sonia Diermayer

There are sound reasons underlying what sometimes seems like a regulatory stranglehold on innovations in water use. Poor sanitation practices have been responsible for disease and misery throughout human history.