Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 285 - ON-SITE SEWAGE FACILITIES › Subchapter H - DISPOSAL OF GRAYWATER › Section 285.81 - Requirements and Conditions for Potentially Reducing the Size of an OSSF Disposal System for a Single Family Residence with a Graywater Reuse System or a Combined Reuse System

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Graywater reuse
				  systems and combined reuse systems are authorized in Chapter 210, Subchapter F
				  of this title (relating to Use of Graywater and Alternative Onsite Water)
				  without a permit, without the submission of planning materials, and without
				  meeting the requirements and conditions of this section. However, a homeowner
				  requesting an on-site sewage facility (OSSF) disposal system smaller than
				  required in §
										285.33
				  of this title (relating to Criteria for Effluent Disposal Systems) must obtain
				  a permit and meet the requirements and conditions of this section.
				  Additionally, the potential reduction of the OSSF disposal system in this
				  section only applies to single family residence with a graywater reuse or a
				  combined reuse system. OSSF disposal systems for non-single family residences
				  with a graywater reuse or a combined reuse system shall not have an OSSF
				  disposal system reduction.
(b)
				  Effluent disposal system sizing. If the graywater reuse system or combined
				  reuse system serving the single family residence is in compliance with Chapter
				  210, Subchapter F of this title, the effluent disposal system required in
				  §
										285.33
				  of this title may be reduced in accordance with Table I in Figure: 30 TAC
				  §285.81(b) of this section.
Attached Graphic
(c) Verification of plumbing
				  entering the OSSF. A licensed master plumber shall evaluate and document, after
				  the plumbing is installed, which sewage sources will be entering the OSSF. The
				  documentation must be provided to the OSSF permitting authority.
(d) Increased wastewater strength. When
				  graywater is removed from the total sewage stream, the remaining sewage stream
				  entering the OSSF will have a higher organic strength. The resulting increase
				  in sewage strength shall be determined in accordance with Table II in Figure:
				  30 TAC §285.81(d) of this section.
Attached Graphic
(e) If the effluent disposal
				  system does not require secondary treatment, either a professional sanitarian
				  or a professional engineer shall demonstrate with effective treatment design
				  and supporting calculations that the proposed treatment system will reduce the
				  effluent quality down to 140 milligrams per liter five-day biochemical oxygen
				  demand (mg/l BOD5) prior to entering the effluent
				  disposal system.
(f) If the
				  effluent disposal system requires secondary treatment, then a professional
				  engineer shall demonstrate with effective treatment design and supporting
				  calculations that the effluent quality meets the levels outlined in §
										285.32(e)
				  of this title (relating to Criteria for Sewage Treatment Systems).
(g) If the effluent disposal system is
				  reduced based on the presence of a graywater reuse system or a combined reuse
				  system, a reserve area equivalent to the reduced area shall be shown to be
				  available for future construction of a disposal field should the graywater
				  reuse system or combined reuse system be abandoned at a later date. The reserve
				  area shall meet the setbacks required by §
										285.91(10)
				  of this title (relating to Tables) and shall not be used for any surface
				  improvements.
(h) Graywater or
				  alternative onsite water, as defined in Chapter 210, Subchapter F of this
				  title, shall not be applied to the surface of a reduced effluent disposal
				  system.
(i) The reduced effluent
				  disposal system is not sized to accommodate graywater. Therefore, there shall
				  not be any physical connection between the graywater reuse system or the
				  combined reuse system and any part of the OSSF without authorization from the
				  OSSF permitting authority.
(j) In
				  addition to the requirements outlined in Chapter 210, Subchapter F of this
				  title, a graywater reuse system or a combined reuse system, used in association
				  with a reduced effluent disposal system under this section, must have a storage
				  tank capable of storing a volume of three days of graywater. The storage is
				  necessary to prevent application of graywater during periods when the landscape
				  is saturated.
(k) Before a license
				  to operate is issued for a reduced effluent disposal system allowed under this
				  section, an affidavit shall be properly filed and recorded in the deed records
				  of the county. The affidavit must include the owner's full name, the legal
				  description of the property, a statement that the permit for the OSSF is
				  transferred to the new owner upon transfer of the property, a statement that
				  the effluent disposal system is reduced due to the presence of a graywater
				  reuse system or a combined reuse system, a statement that the specified reserve
				  area shall not contain surface improvements, and a statement that the graywater
				  reuse system or combined reuse system cannot be connected to the OSSF without
				  obtaining a permit from the OSSF permitting authority.
(l) If the property owner of a graywater
				  reuse system or a combined reuse system on a property served by a reduced
				  effluent disposal system is convicted under or found in violation of any
				  statute related to graywater or public health nuisance, and the system is not
				  properly repaired in a timely manner, the OSSF permitting authority may require
				  the graywater to be connected to the OSSF. If the OSSF permitting authority
				  requires the graywater to be connected to the OSSF, the effluent disposal
				  system must be expanded to accommodate all the flow required in §
										285.91(3)
				  of this title, and the expansion must be permitted by the OSSF permitting
				  authority.