Ontario Municipal Code Art. 6 Facilities Design and Construction

(a) The design of offsite and onsite recycled water facilities, including the preparation of plans and construction specifications, shall be under the responsibility of an engineer registered in the State of California. The design of customer (onsite) facilities that will use recycled water, and preparations of plans and construction specifications, shall be stamped and signed by a State of California registered landscape architect or civil engineer, unless otherwise approved by the Administrator.

(b) Before the Administrator grants final acceptance of any system using recycled water, as-built drawings of the system shall be provided. The installed system shall be tested in accordance with the City Standard Specifications to ensure that the system is in full compliance with applicable rules and regulations.

(c) All offsite and onsite recycled water facilities shall be designed and constructed according to the requirements, conditions, and standards as adopted in the City Standard Specifications to ensure that the system is in full compliance with this chapter. Recycled water systems, both onsite and offsite, shall be separate and independent of any potable water systems.

(d) Where the premises contain dual or multiple water systems, the exposed portions of pipelines shall be identified at sufficient intervals.

(e) Areas irrigated with recycled water must be kept completely separated from domestic water wells and reservoirs. Recycled water shall not be applied or allowed to migrate to within fifty (50) feet of any well used for domestic supply. No impoundment of recycled water shall be located within one hundred (100) feet of any domestic water well, unless it can be demonstrated that special circumstances justify lesser distances to be acceptable.

(f) Adequate means of notification shall be provided to inform the public, employees and others that recycled water is being used. Conspicuous signs with appropriate wording that can be clearly read should be placed at adequate intervals around the authorized use area.

(1) Golf courses should print messages on score cards in a different color indicating recycled water is being used. Water hazards containing recycled water should be posted with appropriate signs.

(2) Languages in addition to English should be used on signs where appropriate.

(§ 2, Ord. 3197, eff. January 7, 2022, § 3, Ord. 3297, eff. March 18, 2025)

(a) Any offsite recycled water distribution facilities required to serve existing or new developments of the property within the City, as determined by the Administrator, shall be provided by the applicant, owner, or customer at their expense, unless the Administrator determines it is a City benefit to construct these capital facilities.

(b) Plans and specifications for all recycled water distribution facilities shall be submitted to and approved by the Administrator, and other regulatory agencies, in advance of construction.

(c) The City will assume responsibility for providing recycled water service to the point of connection of such development on transfer, to the City, of the title to all offsite recycled water systems and any necessary easements. All easements shall be in a form acceptable to the Administrator, and not subject to outstanding obligations to relocate such facilities or any deeds of trust, except in instances where such is determined by the Administrator to be in the best interest of the City.

(d) The City and the property owner or developer may enter into a reimbursement agreement for the portions of a recycled water system that are required to be oversized with capacity to supply more recycled water than the property owner or developer requires. The determination to enter into a reimbursement agreement, and the specific items that are the subject of reimbursement, will be made by the City.

(§ 2, Ord. 3197, eff. January 7, 2022, § 3, Ord. 3297, eff. March 18, 2025)

(a) The user or the owner of the property shall be responsible for all costs associated with onsite recycled water facilities.

(b) When City standards and specifications require a higher quality material, equipment, design or construction method than that required by other governing codes, rules and regulations, the City standards and specifications shall take precedence.

(1) In areas where recycled water is not immediately available when the use area is ready for construction, and if the City has determined that recycled water will be supplied in the future, onsite facilities shall be designed to use recycled water. Provisions shall be made to allow for connection to the City's offsite recycled water facilities, when available. In the interim, potable or other suitable water may be supplied to the onsite facilities through an "interim service connection."

(2) Conditions of interim service are:

(i) The City anticipates recycled water will be available to the site within five (5) years of the time interim service is initiated.

(ii) The user or the owner of the property must sign a recycled water use agreement.

(iii) The user or the owner of the property must agree to perform or pay for all work necessary to remove the interim connection and make connections to the permanent recycled water system at the time the recycled water system is installed.

(iv) An approved backflow prevention device is required on the interim service. The backflow prevention device shall be downstream of the meter and shall be a part of the onsite recycled water facilities.

(v) Future recycled water users will pay for the following:

(A) Cost of constructing and abandoning the interim service and cost of constructing the recycled water service.

(B) Applicable recycled water fees at the time service becomes available.

(C) Applicable interim water rates for the type of water delivered through the interim service.

(vi) When recycled water is available to the site, an inspection of the onsite facilities will be conducted by the Administrator to verify that the facilities are still in compliance with the recycled water use agreement. Recycled water service shall be provided on verification of compliance. If the facilities are not in compliance, the Administrator shall notify the user to make any necessary corrections.

(§ 1, Ord. 2689, eff. June 17, 1999, as amended by § 32, Ord. 2816, eff. December 1, 2005 and § 2, Ord. 3197, eff. January 7, 2022, § 3, Ord. 3297, eff. March 18, 2025)

(a) Construction of all new recycled water facilities will follow City standards and specifications and the American Water Works Association Construction Guidelines for Recycled Water Facilities.

(b) Where it is planned that an existing non-recycled water system shall be converted to a recycled water facility, the facilities to be converted to recycled water shall be investigated in detail at the user's expense, to determine the measures required to bring the system into full compliance with this chapter. No existing potable water facilities shall be connected to or incorporated into the recycled water system without City and State Board approvals.

(c) If, due to onsite failure of the recycled water system, the Administrator determines that it is necessary to convert onsite facilities from a recycled water supply to a potable water supply, a comprehensive investigation shall be performed by or for the City.

(1) The facilities to be converted to recycled water use shall be investigated in detail, including review of any record drawings, preparation of required reports, and determinations by the City of measures necessary to bring the system into full compliance with this chapter for recycled water service.

(2) No potable water facilities shall be connected to or incorporated in the recycled water system that have not been approved for recycled water service by the City.

(d) It shall be the responsibility of the user to pay all costs for such conversion. Conversion costs may include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Isolation of the recycled water supply. Service shall be removed and plugged at the City main or abandoned in a manner approved by the Administrator.

(2) Installation of approved backflow prevention devices, as determined by the Administrator, on all potable and/or other water meter connections.

(3) Removal of any/all special recycled water quick couplers. The user shall be responsible for replacement with quick couplers approved for potable water systems.

(4) Notification to all onsite personnel involved.

(5) Removal of all warning labels/signs.

(6) Installation of any/all potable water facilities and payment of any associated capacity fees, as established in Title 6, Chapter 8B, of the Municipal Code.

(7) System flushing, disinfecting, decontamination, and water quality analyses, as required by the City and/or other regulatory agencies.

(§ 1, Ord. 2689, eff. June 17, 1999, as amended by § 2, Ord. 3197, eff. January 7, 2022, § 3, Ord. 3297, eff. March 18, 2025)