H-0720.1
HOUSE BILL 1213
State of Washington
65th Legislature
2017 Regular Session
By Representatives Farrell, Pollet, Peterson, Gregerson, Wylie, McBride, Doglio, and Hudgins
Read first time 01/13/17. Referred to Committee on Local Government.
AN ACT Relating to promoting the use of greywater in urban buildings; amending RCW 90.46.140; adding a new section to chapter 19.27 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  The legislature finds that the current growth of use of water in Washington's major cities may increasingly strain local water supplies and threaten to cause shortages during times of drought. In many areas of the state, one strategy available to stretch existing water supplies is to rely on the reuse of greywater, which includes wastewater from domestic sources like sinks, showers, and washing machines. Greywater reuse is frequently the most economical means of reducing pressures on the state's overappropriated water resources and is less costly and energy-intensive than alternatives such as desalinization. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to reaffirm its commitment to prioritizing greywater recycling as a water resource management strategy by requiring the updating of rules allowing the reuse of greywater and by requiring the use of greywater in certain urban buildings.
NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 19.27 RCW to read as follows:
(1) By no later than the first building code update after January 1, 2020, the state building code council shall adopt rules to require all new buildings constructed in a city with a population over ninety-five thousand to reuse greywater in a manner consistent with the standards, procedures, and guidelines adopted by rule pursuant to RCW 90.46.140.
(2) The greywater reuse rules adopted by the state building code council must apply to all buildings regardless of size or classification. At a minimum, the rules must require that all toilets and urinals within the building use only greywater sources of water.
(3) Under the rules adopted pursuant to this section, all greywater sources within a building must empty into a common storage tank. The storage tank design standards, including the materials with which the tank is constructed and the size and location of a tank within a building, must take into consideration the cost-effectiveness of design alternatives, the expected capacity of the building, and the expected greywater use volumes to be generated.
(4) In consultation with the department of health, the state building code council shall adopt rules pursuant to this section addressing the following requirements associated with the implementation of greywater reuse:
(a) Treatment requirements associated with different greywater sources prior to deposition in a building's reuse tank; and
(b) Standards for determining conditions in which greywater reuse is allowed consistent with rules adopted pursuant to RCW 90.46.140 for purposes of:
(i) Meeting building water use needs;
(ii) Building heating and cooling needs; or
(iii) Irrigation.
(5) The greywater rules adopted pursuant to this section supersede all local government code in cities with a population over ninety-five thousand.
(6) For purposes of this section, greywater has the same meaning as defined in RCW 90.46.010.
Sec. 3.  RCW 90.46.140 and 1997 c 444 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The department of health shall develop standards, procedures, and guidelines for the reuse of greywater, consistent with RCW 43.20.230(2), by January 1, 1998. By January 1, 2018, the department of health must update the standards, procedures, and guidelines adopted under this section to allow for the reuse of greywater for water use needs of a building, including heating and cooling and the flushing of toilets.
(2) Standards, procedures, and guidelines developed by the department of health for reuse of greywater shall encourage the application of this technology for conserving water resources, or reducing the wastewater load, on domestic wastewater facilities, individual on-site sewage treatment and disposal systems, or community on-site sewage treatment and disposal systems.
(3) The department of health and local health officers may permit the reuse of greywater according to rules adopted by the department of health.
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