Summary of New Jersey's Water Reuse Guideline or Regulation for Agriculture
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 agriculture approved for use in New Jersey
- Water reuse treatment category for agriculture
- Additional context and definitions
- Water reuse for agriculture 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 agricultureThe use of recycled water to land to assist in the production of both commercially and non-commercially processed food crops consumed by humans or livestock and non-food crops. Includes pasture for milking and non-milking animals, fodder, fiber, and seed crops, vineyards, orchards, ornamental nursery stock, Christmas trees, and silviculture. Excludes consumption by livestock, onsite non-potable reuse, and landscaping. includes irrigation of non-edible crops, including spray irrigation of sod farms and pasturelands, or similar areas where public access to the application area is restricted and edible crops if those crops will be peeled, skinned, cooked or thermally processed before consumption; irrigation using an indirect application method that precludes direct contact with the reclaimed water. 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 use of reclaimed water for agricultural irrigation of edible and non-edible crops. New Jersey refers to this approach as “reclaimed water for beneficial reuse” (RWBR). 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). Restrictions on public access are specified for Type II RWBR Restricted Access and Non-Edible Crop Systems but not for other reuse categories with agriculture. 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 agriculture approved for use in New Jersey
NJDEP (2005) defines the following approved agricultural use of reclaimed water for beneficial reuse (RWBR):
- Irrigation of non-edible crops including spray irrigation of sod farms and pasturelands, or similar areas where public access to the application area is restricted (Type II RWBR Restricted Access and Non-Edible Crop Systems)
- Spray irrigation of edible crops if those crops will be peeled, skinned, cooked or thermally processed before consumption (Type III RWBR – Agricultural Edible Crop Systems)
- Irrigation using an indirect application method that precludes direct contact with the reclaimed water, such as ridge and furrow irrigation (Type III RWBR Agricultural Edible Crop Systems)
Water reuse treatment category for agriculture
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.” The various classes of reclaimed water treatment are defined by their respective treatment requirements and applicable performance standards. The respective treatment requirements are briefly summarized regarding water reuse for agriculture:
- For Type II RWBR Restricted Access and Non-Edible Crop Systems, disinfection is required. For UV disinfection, a design UV dose of 75 mJ/cm2 under the maximum daily flow must be used. Specific treatment requirements for disinfection using chlorine, ozone or other methods are not provided.
- For Type III RWBR Agricultural Edible Crop Systems, disinfection is required using 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
For Type II RWBR Restricted Access and Non-Edible Crop Systems, the distribution of RWBR should not produce surface runoff or ponding for any significant amount of time and land application sites should not be frozen or saturated when applying RWBR. For a period of 15 days from the last application of reclaimed water, land application areas should not be used for the grazing of cattle whose milk is intended for human consumption (NJDEP, 2005). There are no restrictions on the grazing of other cattle (NJDEP, 2005).
For public access RWBR, including Type III RWBR Agricultural Edible Crop Systems, 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 agriculture specifications
Summary of New Jersey's Water Reuse for Agriculture Specifications
| Recycled Water Class/Category (Approved Uses) | Source Water Type | Water Quality Parameter | Specification | Sampling/Monitoring Requirements (Frequency of monitoring; site/ location of sample; quantification methods)* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Type II RWBR Restricted Access and Non-Edible Crop Systems (Irrigation of non-edible crops including spray irrigation of sod farms and pasturelands, or similar areas with restricted public access) |
Municipal wastewater |
Total nitrogen |
10 mg/L |
Not specified |
|
Fecal coliforms |
≤200 fecal coliforms/100 mL (30-day geometric mean) ≤400 fecal coliforms/100 mL (7-day geometric mean) |
Continuous monitoring |
||
|
Design UV dose |
75 mJ/cm2 under maximum daily flow |
Dose must be based on continuous monitoring of lamp intensity, UV transmittance and flow rate. |
||
|
Design hydraulic loading rate |
2 inches/week/site |
The Department may authorize a higher hydraulic loading rate if the permittee can demonstrate a higher rate is protective of the environment |
||
|
Phosphorus |
Not specified |
Not specified |
||
|
Type III RWBR Agricultural Edible Crop Systems (Spray irrigation of edible crops if those crops will be peeled, skinned, cooked or thermally processed before consumption; Irrigation using an indirect application method that precludes direct contact with the reclaimed water, such as ridge and furrow irrigation) |
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. |
||
|
Design hydraulic loading rate |
2 inches/week/site |
The Department may authorize a higher hydraulic loading rate if the permittee can demonstrate a higher rate is protective of the environment |
||
|
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 agriculture 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.
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