Title 22 Recycled Water in San Jose: The Fastest Path to Water Approvals

Who supplies recycled water in San Jose?

SBWR wholesales it, and a retailer serves your site. SBWR is the City of San José's recycled water program, fed by the San José-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility. The City of San José's recycled water page describes the system as more than 150 miles of pipeline, five pump stations and storage reservoirs.

Customers buy from whichever retailer serves their location:

• San Jose Water Company
• San José Municipal Water
• City of Santa Clara
• City of Milpitas

Your first call is to the retailer for your parcel. It confirms whether a main is close enough, what pressure and quality it delivers, and which rules apply.

Does my site need its own Title 22 engineering report?

Usually not the main report. Title 22 section 60323 puts the engineering report on whoever produces or supplies recycled water, and it must be approved before water is produced or supplied. In San Jose that is the program, not the individual user.

That does not mean your site skips review. The supplier's report and its rules describe how new use sites are added, and your site plans have to fit them. Some uses, such as cooling towers or dual-plumbed buildings, carry more paperwork. Ask the retailer what it needs for your use before design.

Our post on the Title 22 engineering report covers what the producer's report contains.

Which water quality does each use need?

The use sets the quality, under Title 22. Most urban uses in San Jose need disinfected tertiary water:

• Landscape irrigation of parks, school yards, residential landscaping and unrestricted golf courses (section 60304).
• Cooling towers and any cooling that creates mist (section 60306). Where the system serves air conditioning and its mist could reach workers or the public, a drift eliminator must run whenever it operates, and the recirculating water needs chlorine or another biocide to control Legionella.
• Toilet and urinal flushing (section 60307), which in a building means dual plumbing under sections 60313 to 60316.

Confirm with the retailer that the delivered water meets the quality your use requires. For a cooling or process use, also check its chemistry, such as hardness and conductivity, against the equipment. A water that is legal for the use may still need onsite polishing.

What does the onsite design have to show?

Every use area, every pipe, and every point where recycled and potable water could meet. A typical San Jose site package covers:

• Use areas mapped by type, with public access noted.
• Recycled water piping from the meter to each use area, separated from potable lines and marked as recycled water.
• Backflow protection on the potable service.
• Irrigation layout that keeps spray, mist and runoff out of buildings, designated outdoor eating areas and food handling areas, as Title 22 section 60310 requires.
• Signs in public use areas, at least 4 inches high by 8 inches wide, saying the water is recycled and not for drinking.

What cross-connection rules apply?

The risk sits in your building's plumbing, so the rules do too. An established supplier does not reduce them. For a dual-plumbed system, section 60316 requires:

• an inspection for cross-connections before first use and every year after;
• a cross-connection test at least once every four years;
• inspections and tests by a specialist certified by the California-Nevada Section of AWWA, or an equivalent certification;
• a written report to the State Water Board within 30 days, and notice of any backflow into the potable system within 24 hours.

Backflow assemblies that protect the public water system follow the State Water Board's Cross-Connection Control Policy Handbook. It took effect on July 1, 2024, and was amended on June 17, 2025, replacing the older Title 17 cross-connection rules.

Section 60314 also requires a report for dual-plumbed systems listing each facility, persons served, use areas, piping plans, backflow devices and the test method. Under a master plan report, the plans for a single building can go in any time before water is delivered. Your design supplies that content.

Where do San Jose connections lose time?

Mostly in gaps the site team controls. The common ones:

• Distance to the nearest main, found late, after the site plan is fixed.
• Plans submitted before the retailer's current requirements are confirmed.
• Multi-tenant sites without agreements on who runs the system, keeps the signs up and schedules testing.
• Field changes not carried into as-built drawings, so the final inspection finds piping that does not match the approved plans.

SBWR and each retailer have their own rules for user permits, inspections and on-site responsibility. Get the current version from your retailer before design starts.

Does recycled water speed up a project's other water approvals?

It can help, but it is not a separate shortcut. Moving irrigation, cooling or toilet flushing to recycled water cuts potable demand, which can matter where potable supply or capacity is a constraint on the project.

It does not replace the potable service approvals, and the recycled water connection has its own review. Run the two side by side from the start, with the water engineering for the site designed for both systems.

Limits of this article: this is general education on Title 22 and the San Jose area as of October 2026. Retailer and SBWR requirements change, and your retailer's current rules govern your connection.

Frequently asked questions

Does being next to a purple pipe main mean approval is automatic?

No. It answers the availability question. The site still needs a design that meets Title 22 for each use, the retailer's approval and, for dual-plumbed buildings, cross-connection testing before first use.

Who do I apply to for a recycled water connection in San Jose?

The retailer that serves your parcel: San Jose Water Company, San José Municipal Water, the City of Santa Clara or the City of Milpitas. It coordinates with SBWR.

Can recycled water cool a data center in the South Bay?

Section 60306 allows a cooling tower on disinfected tertiary water. Where the tower serves air conditioning and its mist could reach people, it also needs a drift eliminator and a biocide. Whether it works for your system depends on the water chemistry and the cooling equipment, so test it against the design.

I'm developing a mixed-use project in North San Jose with retail on the ground floor and a shared courtyard. We want recycled water for irrigation and toilet flushing. What should I settle first?

Settle three things: whether a main reaches the site, whether the building will be dual-plumbed, and who will own and test the system after turnover. Dual plumbing brings the section 60313 to 60316 rules, so decide it before architectural plumbing design.

How often is a dual-plumbed building tested?

Under section 60316, it is inspected every year and tested for cross-connections at least once every four years.

Related resources

• Understanding Order WQ 2016-0068-DDW: California's General Recycling Authorization
• Permitting Land Application: Choosing Between WDRs and Recycled Water Rules
• California's New Direct Potable Reuse Rules: What the Regulations Actually Require and Where Implementation Stands
• California Water and Wastewater Engineering

Planning a recycled water connection for a San Jose site?

We confirm what your retailer needs, then design the onsite recycled water system, cross-connection control and signage to match, from our office in San Jose. Tell us about your site.

We specialize in:

• Recycled water system design
• Water distribution and utility design
• Cross-connection control and backflow design
• Title 22 engineering reports
• Irrigation system design for recycled water
• Site civil engineering for land development

Modern Engineering Solutions, McKinney, Texas. Contact: (214) 833-6748 or mod-eng.com