Summary of Nevada'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.

• Technical basis
• Water reuse for landscaping approved for use in Nevada
• Water reuse treatment category for landscaping
• Additional context and definitions
• Water reuse for landscaping specifications (table)
• Upcoming state law or policy
• References
• Disclaimer

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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 Nevada, water reuse for landscaping 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 land used as a cemetery, commercial lawn, golf course, greenbelt or park where public access to the area of use is restricted and unrestricted and human contact with the reclaimed water can and cannot reasonably be expected to occur; subsurface irrigation of land used as a commercial lawn, greenbelt or park; spray irrigation of land used as a cemetery, commercial lawn, golf course, greenbelt or park where public access to the area of use is restricted, human contact with the reclaimed water does not occur and a buffer zone of not less than 100 feet is maintained; and surface irrigation of land used as a greenbelt where public access to the area of use is prohibited and human contact with the reclaimed water does not occur. The source of water (treated municipal wastewater) 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

Nevada approves the use of reclaimed water for reuse for landscaping, including spray, subsurface and surface irrigation of land where restrictions on public access vary along with likelihood of human contact with reclaimed water (Nev. Admin. Code § 445A). All applicable provisions of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.), including its implementing regulations, must be met. All categories of reclaimed water must receive secondary treatment and meet specific pH, TSS and BOD requirements. Treatment requirements and performance standards are applied for the removal of microbial contaminants, chemicals and other relevant indicators for water reuse for landscaping 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. However, buffer zone requirements for the use of reclaimed water are based on human exposure to aerosols.

Water reuse for landscaping approved for use in Nevada

Nev. Admin. Code § 445A defines the following approved water reuse for landscaping:

• Spray irrigation of land used as a cemetery, commercial lawn, golf course, greenbelt or park where public access to the area of use is unrestricted and human contact with the reclaimed water can reasonably be expected to occur (Reuse Category A)
• Spray irrigation of land used as a cemetery, commercial lawn, golf course, greenbelt or park where public access to the area of use is restricted and human contact with the reclaimed water cannot reasonably be expected to occur (Reuse Category B)
• Subsurface irrigation of land used as a commercial lawn, greenbelt or park (Reuse Category B)
• Spray irrigation of land used as a cemetery, commercial lawn, golf course, greenbelt or park where public access to the area of use is restricted, human contact with the reclaimed water does not occur and a buffer zone of not less than 100 feet is maintained (Reuse Category C)
• Surface irrigation of land used as a greenbelt where public access to the area of use is prohibited and human contact with the reclaimed water does not occur (Reuse Category D)

Nevada permits the use of Category A+ recycled water for any other reuse activity approved for reuse category A, B, C, D or E (Nev. Admin. Code § 445A). For specifications for Category A+, please see the webpage for “potable water reuse.” 

Water reuse treatment category for landscaping

All reuse categories require, at minimum, secondary treatment that achieves a pH of 6–9, a TSS concentration of ≤30 mg/L and a BOD5 concentration of ≤30 mg/L. The reuse categories differ by their bacteriological quality requirements.

Recycled water applied via subsurface irrigation and spray irrigation is generally treated to the same biological and disinfection standards (Nevada DEP, personal communication, May 3, 2022). Nevada does not permit the subsurface irrigation of untreated, commercial graywater (Nevada DEP, personal communication, May 3, 2022).

Additional context and definitions

In Nevada, reclaimed water is defined as “sewage that has been treated by a physical, biological, or chemical process, which is intended for a use defined in Nev. Admin. Code § 445A.276 to 445A.2771, inclusive, and that meets the corresponding water quality criteria for the specified use” (Nev. Admin. Code § 445A).

A person using reclaimed water for spray irrigation is required to conduct the irrigation in a manner that inhibits the reclaimed water spray from drifting beyond the area of use or the buffer zone, if any (Nev. Admin. Code § 445A.2754). Nevada establishes the size of a given buffer zone and buffer zone requirements are based on human exposure to aerosols (Nev. Admin. Code § 445A.2756). 

Nevada requires signs to be posted along the outer perimeter of the area of municipal reclaimed water use that warn the public that reclaimed water is in use in the area and that contact with the reclaimed water should be avoided (Nev. Admin. Code § 445A). The pipe infrastructure conveying the reclaimed water must be identified by color marking or a metal tag and all reclaimed water outlets, like faucets and hose connections, must be identified at the point of use.

Water reuse for landscaping specifications

Summary of Nevada's Water Reuse for Landscaping Specifications

Source= Nev. Admin. Code § 445A

* 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.

^a The use of non-denitrified reclaimed water requires application at the agronomic, uptake rate of the crop or landscape to avoid nitrogen overapplication and leaching (personal communication).

Upcoming state law or policy

No upcoming regulations pertaining to water reuse for landscaping were found for Nevada.

References

Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.

Water Controls, Nev. Admin. Code § 445A.

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Disclaimers

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.