Summary of New Jersey's Water Reuse Guideline or Regulation for Landscaping
This page is part of the EPA’s REUSExplorer tool, which summarizes the different state level regulations or guidelines for water reuse for a variety of sources and end-uses.
The source water for this summary is Treated Municipal Wastewater.
On this page:
- Technical basis
- Water reuse for landscaping approved for use in New Jersey
- Water reuse treatment category for landscaping
- Additional context and definitions
- Water reuse for landscaping specifications (table)
- Upcoming state law or policy
- References
- Disclaimer
This page is a summary of the state’s water reuse law or policy and is provided for informational purposes only. Please always refer to the state for the most accurate and updated information.
In New Jersey, water reuse for water reuse for landscapingThe use of recycled water on land to assist in the irrigation of vegetation in residential and non-residential areas. Includes impoundments to store water for irrigation , ornamental vegetation, parks, school yards, sporting facilities (including golf courses), private gardens, roadsides and greenbelts, and cemeteries. Excludes irrigation of areas used for agriculture, commercial reuse applications, or any centralized non-potable reuse. includes spray irrigation of golf courses, baseball/soccer/football fields and parks, irrigation of landscaped areas and highway median strip irrigation. The source of water treated municipal wastewater Treated wastewater effluent discharged from a centralized wastewater treatment plant of any size. Other terms referring to this source of water include domestic wastewater, treated wastewater effluent, reclaimed water, and treated sewage. is specified by the state as municipal wastewater. This write-up uses state terms when discussing sources or uses of water that may differ from the Regulations and End-Use Specifications Explorer's (REUSExplorer's) terms.
Technical basis
New Jersey approves the beneficial reuse of reclaimed water for landscaping, including spray irrigation of golf courses and parks and irrigation of landscaped areas accessible to the public. Reclaimed Water for Beneficial Reuse (RWBR) programs must be authorized by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) under a New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) permit (NJDEP, 2005). All applicable provisions of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.), including its implementing regulations, must be met in addition to any relevant rule requirements under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) (124 Stat. 3885). Treatment requirements and performance standards are applied for the removal of microbial contaminants, chemicals and other relevant indicators related to agriculture and are summarized in the table. The technical basis for developing the specifications and/or removals of microbial contaminants, chemicals and other relevant indicators is not explicitly specified.
Water reuse for landscaping approved for use in New Jersey
NJDEP (2005) defines the following approved water reuse for landscaping as the use of RWBR where public exposure is likely (i.e., Type I Public Access RWBR). Type I RWBR can be used for:
- Spray irrigation of golf courses
- Baseball/soccer/football fields and parks
- Irrigation of landscaped areas
- Highway median strip irrigation
Water reuse treatment category for landscaping
The various classes of reclaimed water treatment are defined by their respective treatment requirements and applicable performance standards. “In addition to the minimum treatment requirements for public access reuse identified, RWBR must also meet all the treatment effluent standards specified in the permit, prior to distribution to the reuse location” (NJDEP, 2005). This permit might also require secondary treatment.
- For Type I RWBR Public Access Systems, the treatment requirements are disinfection (via chlorine, UV or an approved alternative method like ozone). For chlorine disinfection, a total chlorine residual of 1.0 mg/L must be maintained for a minimum contact time of 15 minutes at peak hourly flow. For UV disinfection, a design UV dose of 100 mJ/cm2 under the maximum daily flow must be used.
Additional context and definitions
In New Jersey, reclaimed water for beneficial reuse is defined as “taking what was once considered a waste product, giving it a specialized level of treatment and using the resulting high-quality reclaimed water for beneficial uses” (NJDEP, 2005).
To qualify as Type I Public Access RWBR, the minimum design capacity of the wastewater treatment plant should be 0.1 million gallons per day (NJDEP, 2005).
For public access RWBR, New Jersey requires advisory signs to posted that notify the public of the nature of the reuse in the project area where reuse is practiced (NJDEP, 2005). The use of purple as the color of the signs is encouraged but not required. No cross connections between RWBR delivery pipes and potable water systems are allowed and RWBR delivery pipes cannot be connected into “any stormwater conveyance or pipe that is not the final delivery point prior to final use” (NJDEP, 2005).
Water reuse for landscaping specifications
Summary of New Jersey's Water Reuse for Landscaping Specifications
| Recycled Water Class/Category | Source Water Type | Water Quality Parameter | Specification | Sampling/Monitoring Requirements (Frequency of monitoring; site/ location of sample; quantification methods)* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Type I Public Access RWBR (Spray irrigation of golf courses; Soccer/football fields and parks; Irrigation of landscaped areas; Highway median strip irrigation) |
Municipal wastewater |
Fecal coliforms |
≤14 fecal coliforms/100 mL (single sample maximum) ≤2.2 fecal coliforms/100 mL (7-day median) |
Continuous monitoring |
|
Total suspended solids (TSS) |
≤5 mg/L (if chlorine used for disinfection) |
Weekly monitoring, conditions must be met before and after disinfection for TSS or turbidity and prior to discharge to a reuse location |
||
|
Turbidity |
≤2 NTU (if UV used for disinfection) |
Continuous monitoring, conditions must be met before and after disinfection for TSS or turbidity and prior to discharge to a reuse location |
||
|
Total nitrogen |
≤10 mg/L |
Not specified |
||
|
Total chlorine residual |
≥1.0 mg/L |
Maintained for a minimum contact time of 15 minutes at peak hourly flow |
||
|
Design UV dose |
100 mJ/cm2 under maximum daily flow |
Dose must be based on continuous monitoring of lamp intensity, UV transmittance and flow rate |
||
|
Phosphorus |
Not specified |
Not specified |
Source= NJDEP (2005)
* Information about sampling and monitoring requirements such as frequency, site and quantification methods not specifically listed in the table was not explicitly specified in the State-specific regulations.
Upcoming state law or policy
No upcoming regulations pertaining to water reuse for landscaping were found for New Jersey.
References
Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.
Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), 124 Stat. 3885.
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Division of Water Quality, Bureau of Surface Water Permitting. 2005. Technical Manual for Reclaimed Water for Beneficial Reuse.
Please contact us at [email protected] if the information on this page needs updating or if this state is updating or planning to update its laws and policies and we have not included that information on the news page.