Assigned to NREW AS PASSED BY COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2097
gray water; definition; residential standards
Purpose
Allows a person to use or discharge gray water at a private residence if outlined conditions
are met, and outlines prohibitions of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ),
counties, cities, towns and other political subdivisions in Arizona regarding the regulation of gray
water treatment systems.
Background
Gray water is wastewater that has been collected separately from a sewage flow and that
originates from a clothes washer, bathroom tub, shower or sink, not including wastewater from a
kitchen sink (A.R.S. § 49-201).
A city, town or county may not limit the use of gray water by rule or ordinance unless, in
an initial active management area that has a groundwater management goal of safe yield and that
does not contain a part of the Central Arizona Project aqueduct, effluent has been included in an
assured water supply determination and the use of gray water would reduce the volume of effluent
available to satisfy assured water supply requirements applicable to that determination. For
residential gray water treatment systems that are used indoors for toilet flushing, the Director of
ADEQ may establish by rule minimum requirements that are necessary specifically to address
public health or safety concerns (A.R.S. § 49-204).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.
Provisions
Residential Gray Water Reuse
1. Allows a person to use or discharge gray water at a private residence if:
a) the total gray water flow is 400 gallons per day or less;
b) gray water originating from the residence is used and contained within the property
boundary for household gardening, composting or landscape watering;
c) human contact with gray water and soil watered by gray water is avoided;
d) surface application of gray water is not used for watering of food plants, except for trees
and shrubs that have an edible portion that does not come in contact with the gray water;
e) the gray water does not contain hazardous chemicals, including those derived from
cleaning car parts, washing greasy or oily rags or disposing of waste solutions from
hobbyist or home occupational activities; FACT SHEET – Amended
H.B. 2097
Page 2
f) the gray water does not contain water used to wash diapers or similar soiled or infectious
garments;
g) the gray water application is managed to minimize standing water on the surface and the
water user employs best practices to improve soil condition and increase filtration;
h) the water user ceases gray water use if the system fails to operate properly;
i) the water user restricts access to any gray water surge tanks with a covering or lid and
holding time is minimized to avoid development of anaerobic conditions and odors;
j) the gray water system is sited outside of a floodway;
k) the gray water system is operated to maintain a minimum vertical separation distance of at
least five feet from the point of gray water application to the top of the seasonally high
groundwater table;
l) any pressure piping used in the gray water system that may be susceptible to cross
connection with a potable water system clearly indicates the piping does not carry potable
water;
m) the water user applies gray water to a surface only by flood or drip distribution, including
containment by horticultural mulch basins and swales;
n) the gray water will not contaminate groundwater; and
o) the gray water use is consistent with any additional conditions as prescribed by the Director
of ADWR.
2. Allows the Director of ADWR, for the purposes of residential gray water reuse, to adopt rules
to protect both:
a) public health and safety; and
b) groundwater from contamination.
3. Prohibits ADEQ or a county, city, town or other political subdivision of Arizona from requiring
a notice or permit, including any permit issued pursuant to water quality control standards, for
the use or discharge of gray water if the gray water use is consistent with the outlined
requirements.
4. Prohibits ADEQ or a county,from requiring a private residence to connect to an on-site
wastewater treatment facility or outside sewage system or requiring any related permits or
notices if:
a) the residence uses gray water pursuant to the outlined standards;
b) all toilets at the residence are composting toilets; and
c) all kitchen sinks in the residence do not have a garbage disposal.
5. Prohibits ADEQ or a county from prohibiting a person from installing a composting toilet on
any property in which the outlined prohibition on limiting the use of gray water in an initial
AMA does not apply and is residential rural land.
Zoning Ordinances
6. Prohibits the zoning ordinance adopted by the county board of supervisors from imposing any
other requirements beyond the residential gray water reuse standards or any penalties on gray
water users who comply with the residential gray water reuse standards. FACT SHEET – Amended
H.B. 2097
Page 3
7. Prohibits any outlined county zoning ordinance from preventing, restricting or otherwise
regulating the use or occupation of land or improvements on land related to gray water that
conform to the residential gray water reuse standards.
8. States that a building permit is not required for constructing a gray water system that complies
with the residential gray water reuse standards.
Definitions
9. Defines residential rural land as property that is:
a) not located on a county island;
b) located in an unincorporated area of a county with a zoning classification that allows for
the construction of a private residence;
c) on a lot of two acres or larger; and
d) not directly adjacent to a city or town.
10. Defines composting toilet as a manufactured or constructed treatment technology that receives
human waste from a waterless toilet directly into an aerobic composting chamber in which
dehydration and biological activity reduce the waste volume, nutrient content and harmful
microorganisms to an appropriate level for later disposal.
11. Adds, to the definition of gray water, wastewater that has been collected separately from a
dishwasher or kitchen sink that does not include a garbage disposal.
12. Specifies that gray water does not include wastewater from a kitchen sink that includes a
garbage disposal or from a flush toilet or wastewater contaminated by soiled diapers.
13. Exempts, from the definition of on-site wastewater treatment facility, a system that is installed
at a site to treat and dispose of gray water.
Miscellaneous
14. Contains a statement of legislative intent.
15. Makes technical and conforming changes.
16. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendment Adopted by the Committee
1. Adds additional circumstances in which a person may utilize gray water reuse in a private
residence.
2. Prohibits ADEQ or a county from prohibiting the use of gray water reuse on property located
in residential rural land.
3. Defines residential rural land.
4. Adds a statement of legislative intent. FACT SHEET – Amended
H.B. 2097
Page 4
House Action Senate Action
NREW 1/23/24 DP 5-4-0-0 NREW 3/7/24 DPA 5-1-1
3
rd
Read 1/8/24 31-26-1-0-2
Prepared by Senate Research
March 25, 2024
RA/slp