Water availability, discharge permits, reuse and pollutants: key points for an industrial facility in California, with official sources.
The supplying basin matters more than a statewide average. Some aquifers have been pumped faster than they recharge. Under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, local groundwater sustainability agencies in high- and medium-priority basins implement sustainability plans. A facility using a well must examine the local plan and applicable pumping conditions; a network customer must check its supplier's conditions.
Sources: California DWR Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
Direct surface-water discharges require the applicable NPDES authorization. Other discharges that can affect state waters, including groundwater, can require Waste Discharge Requirements from the Regional Water Board. Sending industrial effluent to the sewer also requires meeting the receiving authority's conditions.
For recycled water governed by Title 22, section 60306 requires disinfected tertiary water for industrial or commercial cooling that creates a mist, including cooling towers. Non-mist cooling must use at least disinfected secondary-23 water. Additional aerosol and microbial safeguards apply to specified air-conditioning cooling systems. The required grade depends on the source and use; it is not a blanket classification for every internal process loop.
The separate onsite nonpotable treatment and reuse regulations took effect on April 22, 2026 for the covered building systems. Assess this regime separately for qualifying building water uses; it is not a universal authorization to reuse any factory effluent.
Sources: California Waste Discharge Requirements; California recycled water regulations May 2026 sections 60306 and 60307; California onsite nonpotable reuse effective April 2026
Use the facility's discharge limits and applicable industrial category for cadmium, nickel and other metals. For nitrogen and phosphorus, keep the permit's exact forms and averaging periods. Recycled-water microbial criteria and process requirements add a separate quality objective; meeting one does not prove the others are met.
Identify the regional authority, supply basin and intended reuse grade. Assess treatment or retreatment and integration with existing equipment, analyze inlet and outlet quality, monitor metals, nutrients and relevant microbial indicators, and document water savings and performance with traceable reports of certified authenticity.
Detailed state profiles in this edition: California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Florida, New York and Michigan. This is a federal overview with eight documented state profiles, not a completed review of all 50 states. For other locations, the federal overview remains useful but a state and local review is still needed. Your discharge permit, sewer authorization and water supply conditions determine the requirements for your facility.
Let's start with a water audit: a site-specific assessment to identify your savings potential and define the right solution.