Direct Potable Reuse

Thank you for participating in this historical effort.

The division would like to thank all stakeholders one last time for their tremendous effort in the direct potable reuse project, resulting in successful rulemaking. The rule is the first of its kind in the nation and will apply to all community water systems that pursue this pathway to meet their water supply needs. 

The thorough, thoughtful input by stakeholders was key in creating a package of regulations and associated policies. The final regulations are published on the Secretary of State's website (version dated Jan. 14, 2023, Section 11.14). The drinking water policies (16 and 17) associated with the regulation are available on our current drinking water policies website.

Direct potable reuse will require treatment with state-of-the-art multi-stage technologies to make treated wastewater safe for human consumption. Colorado communities have never been prohibited from implementing direct potable reuse projects, but no utilities have implemented it to date.

The division will continue working with specific public water systems regarding direct potable reuse efforts. It will also continue to participate and stay connected with organizations like WateReuse Colorado regarding potable reuse across the state of Colorado.

cdphe.colorado.gov/water-quality

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