HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/HB 263 Reclaimed Water
SPONSOR(S): Environment, Agriculture & Flooding Subcommittee, Maggard
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: CS/SB 64
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Environment, Agriculture & Flooding 17 Y, 0 N, As CS Gawin Moore
Subcommittee
2) Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations 15 Y, 0 N White Pigott
Subcommittee
3) State Affairs Committee 22 Y, 0 N Gawin Williamson
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Reclaimed water is water from a domestic wastewater treatment facility that has received at least secondary
treatment and basic disinfection for reuse. Reuse is the deliberate application of reclaimed water for a
beneficial purpose. The use of reclaimed water for the purpose of directly or indirectly augmenting drinking
water supplies is known as potable reuse. There are no regulations in Florida that address the use of
reclaimed water for indirect potable reuse involving groundwater replenishment or direct potable reuse.
By November 1, 2021, the bill requires all domestic wastewater utilities that dispose of effluent, reclaimed
water, or reuse water by surface water discharge to submit to the Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) for review and approval a plan for eliminating non-beneficial surface water discharges within five years.
Upon approval of a plan by DEP, the bill requires a utility to fully implement the approved plan by January 1,
2028. However, if the utility proposes to implement a potable reuse project, the utility has until January 1, 2030,
to implement the potable reuse project component of the plan, provided the utility has implemented all other
components of the plan.
The bill declares that reclaimed water is deemed a water source for public water supply systems. The bill also
declares that potable reuse is an alternative water supply, and potable reuse projects are eligible for alternative
water supply funding.
The bill specifies that potable reuse projects developed as qualifying public-private partnerships are eligible for
expedited permitting beginning January 1, 2026. In addition, such projects are eligible for priority funding from
the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and water management district cooperative funding.
The bill requires counties, municipalities, and special districts to authorize the use of residential graywater
technologies under certain circumstances and to provide incentives for the implementation of such
technologies.
The bill has a significant negative fiscal impact on the state and an indeterminate negative fiscal impact on
local governments. Funding for the bill’s provisions will be determined through the appropriations process.
This document does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
STORAGE NAME: h0263e.SAC
DATE: 4/6/2021
FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Background
Drinking Water
Congress passed the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in 1974 to protect public health by
regulating the nation’s public drinking water supply.1 The SDWA applies to all public water systems in
the U.S., which are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).2 However, the most
direct oversight of water systems is conducted by state drinking water programs. States can apply to
the EPA for “primacy,” or the authority to implement the SDWA within their jurisdictions, if they can
show that they will adopt standards at least as stringent as the EPA’s and ensure their water systems
meet these standards. All states and territories, except Wyoming and the District of Columbia, have
obtained primacy.3
Florida Safe Water Requirements
The “Florida Safe Drinking Water Act”4 (act) establishes the Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) as the agency with primary responsibility for regulating drinking water, with support by the
Department of Health and its units, including county health departments. The act is intended to:
Implement the federal SDWA;
Encourage cooperation between federal, state, and local agencies, not only in their enforcement
role, but also in their service and assistance roles to city and county elected bodies; and
Provide for safe drinking water at all times throughout the state, with due regard for economic
factors and efficiency in government.5
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program is a federal-state partnership created
within the SDWA to help ensure safe drinking water. The DWSRF program provides financial support to
water systems and to state safe water programs.6 In Florida, the DWSRF program within DEP provides
low-interest loans to local governments and private utilities to plan, design, and build or upgrade
drinking water systems.7
Wastewater Treatment Facilities
Because domestic wastewater treatment facilities are stationary installations that are reasonably
expected to be sources of water pollution, they must be operated, maintained, constructed, expanded,
or modified with a permit issued by DEP.8 Each day over 1.5 billion gallons of treated wastewater,
effluent,9 and reclaimed water10 are disposed of from these facilities.11 Methods of disposal include
reuse and land application systems, groundwater disposal by underground injection, groundwater
1
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Understanding the Safe Drinking Water Act (June 2004),
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-04/documents/epa816f04030.pdf (last visited Jan. 14, 2021).
2
Pub. L. No. 93-523, 88 Stat. 1660 (1974). Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA is authorized to regulate contaminants in
public drinking water systems.
3
EPA, Understanding the Safe Drinking Water Act (June 2004), https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-
04/documents/epa816f04030.pdf (last visited Jan. 14, 2021).
4
Section 403.850, F.S. The act includes sections. 403.850-403.891, F.S.
5
Section 403.851, F.S.
6
EPA, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), https://www.epa.gov/dwsrf (last visited Jan. 15, 2021).
7
DEP, State Revolving Fund, https://floridadep.gov/wra/srf (last visited Jan. 28, 2020).
8
Section 403.087(1), F.S.
9
Rule 62-600.200(22), F.A.C., defines “effluent” to mean, unless specifically stated otherwise, water that is not reused after flowing
out of any plant or other works used for the purpose of treating, stabilizing, or holding wastes.
10
Rule 62-600.200(54), F.A.C., defines “reclaimed water” to mean water that has received at least secondary treatment and basic
disinfection and is reused after flowing out of a domestic wastewater treatment facility.
11
DEP, General Facts and Statistics about Wastewater in Florida, https://floridadep.gov/water/domestic-wastewater/content/general-
facts-and-statistics-about-wastewater-florida (last visited Jan. 15, 2021).
STORAGE NAME: h0263e.SAC PAGE: 2
DATE: 4/6/2021
recharge using injection wells, surface water discharges, disposal to coastal and open ocean waters,
and wetland discharges.12
Most domestic wastewater treatment facilities must meet either basic disinfection or high-level
disinfection requirements, dependent upon the type of discharge.13 Basic disinfection requires the
effluent to contain less than 200 fecal coliforms per 100 micrograms per milliliter,14 while high-level
disinfection requires fecal coliforms to be reduced below detection.15 Domestic wastewater treatment
facilities that discharge to surface waters16 must also obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) permit, which is established by the Clean Water Act to control point source
discharges.17 NPDES permit requirements for most domestic wastewater facilities are incorporated into
the DEP-issued permit.18
Consumptive Use Permits (CUPs)
Before using waters of the state,19 a person must apply for and obtain a CUP from the applicable water
management district (WMD)20 or DEP. The WMD or DEP may impose reasonable conditions necessary
to assure that the proposed use is consistent with the overall objectives of the WMD or DEP and is not
harmful to the water resources of the area.21 To obtain a CUP, an applicant must establish that the
proposed use of water is a reasonable-beneficial use,22 will not interfere with any presently existing
legal use of water, and is consistent with the public interest.23
It is possible for consumptive use to lower the flows and levels of water bodies to a point that the
resource values are significantly harmed. To prevent this harm, the WMDs are responsible for
identifying and establishing the limit at which further water withdrawals would be significantly harmful to
the water resources or ecology of the area, known as the minimum flow24 or minimum level (MFL).25
Water Conservation
The Legislature has recognized that the proper conservation of water is an important means of
achieving the economical and efficient utilization of water necessary, in part, to constitute a reasonable-
beneficial use.26 As such, public water supply utilities can provide a goal-based water conservation plan
when applying for a consumptive use permit.27 To promote water conservation and the implementation
12
Rule 62-600.440(4), F.A.C.
13
DEP, Ultraviolet Disinfection for Domestic Wastewater, https://floridadep.gov/water/domestic-wastewater/content/ultraviolet-uv-
disinfection-domestic-wastewater (last visited Jan. 15, 2021).
14
Rules 62-600.510(1) and 62-600.440(5), F.A.C.
15
Rule 62-600.440(6), F.A.C.
16
Section 373.019(21), F.S., defines “surface water” to mean water upon the surface of the earth, whether contained in bounds created
naturally or artificially or diffused. Water from natural springs is classified as surface water when it exits from the spring onto the
earth’s surface; s. 403.031(13), F.S., defines “waters” to mean rivers, lakes, streams, springs, impoundments, wetlands, and all other
waters or bodies of water, including fresh, brackish, saline, tidal, surface, or underground waters; Rule 62-620.200(56), F.A.C.
17
33 U.S.C. s. 1342.
18
Section 403.0885, F.S.; Rule 62-620, F.A.C.; DEP, Wastewater Permitting, https://floridadep.gov/water/domestic-
wastewater/content/wastewater-permitting (last visited Jan. 15, 2021); Florida’s Water Permitting Portal, Types of Permits,
http://flwaterpermits.com/typesofpermits.html (last visited Jan. 15, 2021).
19
Section 373.019(22), F.S., defines the term “water” or “waters in the state” to mean any and all water on or beneath the surface of
the ground or in the atmosphere, including natural or artificial watercourses, lakes, ponds, or diffused surface water and water
percolating, standing, or flowing beneath the surface of the ground, as well as all coastal waters within the jurisdiction of the state.
20
Section 373.216, F.S.; See Rules 40A-2, 40B-2, 40C-2, 40D-2, and 40E-2, F.A.C., for CUP permitting requirements.
21
Section 373.219(1), F.S.; an individual solely using water for domestic consumption is exempt from CUP requirements.
22
Section 373.019(16), F.S., defines the term “reasonable-beneficial use” to mean the use of water in such quantity as is necessary for
economic and efficient utilization for a purpose and in a manner that is both reasonable and consistent with the public interest.
23
Section 373.223(1), F.S.
24
Section 373.042(1)(a), F.S., provides that the minimum flow for a given watercourse is the limit at which further water withdrawals
would be significantly harmful to the water resources or ecology of the area.
25
Section 373.042(1)(b), F.S., provides that the minimum level is the level of groundwater in an aquifer or the level of a surface
waterbody at which further withdrawals will significantly harm the water resources of the area. DEP, Minimum Flows and Minimum
Water Levels and Reservations, https://floridadep.gov/water-policy/water-policy/content/minimum-flows-and-minimum-water-levels-
and-reservations (last visited Jan. 21, 2021).
26
Section 373.227(1), F.S.
27
Section 373.227(4), F.S.
STORAGE NAME: h0263e.SAC PAGE: 3
DATE: 4/6/2021
of measures that produce significant water savings beyond those required in a CUP, each WMD must
adopt rules providing water conservation incentives, which may include limited permit extensions.28
Reclaimed Water
Reclaimed water is water from a domestic wastewater29 treatment facility that has received at least
secondary treatment30 and basic disinfection31 for reuse.32 Reuse is the deliberate application of
reclaimed water for a beneficial purpose.33 Current law specifies that encouraging and promoting the
reuse of reclaimed water are state objectives and are considered to be in the public interest. In
response to these objectives, DEP and the WMDs have implemented a comprehensive reuse
program.34 Currently, each state agency and WMD must submit an annual report to the Secretary of
DEP summarizing the activities designed to utilize reclaimed water at its facilities and the amount of
reclaimed water used for a beneficial purpose.35 Additionally, reclaimed water is considered an
alternative water supply,36 and is eligible to receive alternative water supply funding.37
Florida law allows reclaimed water to be used in slow-rate land application systems for public access
areas (e.g., golf courses, parks, and highway medians), residential irrigation, and edible crops;38 rapid-
rate land application systems;39 groundwater recharge and indirect potable reuse systems;40 and
overland flow systems.41 Industrial uses for reclaimed water, such as cooling water, wash water, and
process water, are also authorized.42 Florida has been utilizing reclaimed water for landscape irrigation
and industrial uses since the early 1970s. Currently, Florida is the national leader in water reuse,
utilizing 48 percent of the total domestic wastewater in the state for nonpotable uses.43
Potable Reuse
The use of reclaimed water for the purpose of directly or indirectly augmenting drinking water supplies
is known as potable reuse. Indirect potable reuse is the planned discharge of reclaimed water to
ground or surface waters for the development or supplementation of potable water supply. Direct
potable reuse is the introduction of advanced treated reclaimed water into a raw water supply
immediately upstream of a drinking water treatment facility or directly into a potable water distribution
system.44
Although regulations currently exist in Florida for using reclaimed water for indirect potable reuse for
augmenting surface water, there are no regulations that address using reclaimed water for indirect
potable reuse involving groundwater replenishment or direct potable reuse.45
28
Section 373.227(5), F.S.
29
Section 367.021(5), F.S., defines the term “domestic wastewater” to mean wastewater principally from dwellings, business
buildings, institutions, and sanitary wastewater or sewage treatment plants.
30
Rule 62-610.200(54), F.A.C., defines the term “secondary treatment.”
31
Rule 62-600.440(5), F.A.C., provides the requirements for basic disinfection.
32
Section 373.019(17), F.S.; Rule 62-610.200(48), F.A.C.
33
Rule 62-610.200(52), F.A.C.
34
DEP, Risk Impact Statement (Dec. 21, 1998), https://floridadep.gov/sites/default/files/risreuse_508C.pdf (last visited Jan. 15, 2021).
35
Section 403.0645(4), F.S.
36
Section 373.019(1), F.S., defines alternative water supplies as salt water; brackish surface and groundwater; surface water captured
predominately during wet-weather flows; sources made available through the addition of new storage capacity for surface or
groundwater, water that has been reclaimed after one or more public supply, municipal, industrial, commercial, or agricultural uses;
the downstream augmentation of water bodies with reclaimed water; stormwater; and any other water supply source that is designated
as nontraditional for a water supply planning region in the applicable regional water supply plan.
37
Section 373.250(2), F.S.
38
Chapter 62-610, Part III, F.A.C.
39
Chapter 62-610, Part IV, F.A.C., includes rapid infiltration basins and absorption fields.
40
Chapter 62-610, Part V, F.A.C.
41
Chapter 62-610, Part VI, F.A.C., includes the treatment of domestic wastewater to meet effluent limitations for discharge to surface
waters.
42
Chapter 62-610, Part VII, F.A.C.
43
PRC, Framework for the Implementation of Potable Reuse in Florida (Jan. 2020), xxiii, available at
http://prc.watereuseflorida.com/wp-content/uploads/Framework-for-Potable-Reuse-in-Florida-FINAL-January-2020-web10495.pdf
(last visited Jan. 13, 2021).
44
Id. at xxiv.
45
Id.
STORAGE NAME: h0263e.SAC PAGE: 4
DATE: 4/6/20