MARCH 2016 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \
41
TRENDS
in Water Reuse
reduction of potable water use for irrigation would have
a dramatic impact on both the energy and cost associated
with water treatment.
In May 2013, House Bill 1044 was signed into law allow-
ing the municipalities the ability to consider greywater
reuse. This law, however, simply stated the state would
not stand in the way if municipalities and water districts
wanted to entertain implementation in accordance with
their decrees, contracts and permits. It did not go so far as
to allow everyone the right to implement reuse systems
at this time. While this initial step is critical to the topic
of reuse, there are many additional steps still to pursue.
Not only will the municipalities need to adopt separate
regulations to both allow and define the parameters for
reuse, but also the Colorado Plumbing Board must adopt a
revision to the Plumbing Code to allow greywater piping
within a building. As this bill was specific to greywater, it
does not address the capture and use of stormwater that,
without some method of augmentation, still will need to
be released from the site.
What if we find an affordable and replicable method to
implement greywater reuse and to augment stormwater
collection? What if we are able to reach consensus to mod-
ify the Plumbing Code? Would development accept the
challenge and could it someday become the norm rather
than the risk? Regulations and laws within Colorado often
are leveraged as a crutch when we are faced with the op-
portunity to consider water reuse, and many times right-
ly so. We are certainly different from many other states
where water reuse is not only allowed, but also encour-
aged. The state has started the movement by stating it will
not stand in the way of some greywater reuse, but it is up
to us to follow through on this opportunity and work to
knock over this first domino of change.
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Water at the source
