Yuba County Municipal Code Art. 1 General

The intent of this Chapter is:

(1) To conserve water in Yuba County by facilitating greater reuse of laundry, shower, lavatory and similar sources of discharge water for irrigation and/or indoor use where appropriate.

(2) Help reduce the number of non-compliant graywater systems by making legal compliance more easily achievable.

(3) Provide guidance for avoiding potentially unhealthful conditions.

(4) Reduce the loading on standard (permitted and functioning) private sewage disposal systems by diverting the graywater.

(5) Establish the Yuba County Environmental Health Department as the enforcement agency for the review and permitting of gray water systems.

(Ord. No. 1536)

Many areas in Yuba County do not meet the requirements of the graywater ordinance due to improper soils, drainage, slopes, etc. Many areas of the southern valley portion of the county (such as Linda, Olivehurst, Plumas Lakes and the Wheatland area) have poor drainage and deep hardpan soils. Many areas in the foothills and hill portions of the county (such as Loma Rica, Dobbins, Browns Valley, Camp Far West, and Smartsville) have shallow soils and/or slow perking soils as well as slopes and many surface drainages that are not conducive to the proper disposal of graywater.

Conditions which restrict or will prohibit the use of graywater systems in Yuba County include but are not limited to:

(1) Any parcel that requires an advanced (pretreatment) type septic system will not be allowed a gray water system. These advanced systems need full household water flows to maintain proper operation and treatment.

(2) Any parcel with less than 36 inches of suitable soils under the application zone is not appropriate for graywater application. Many parcels in the county do not meet this requirement. (i.e. perks < 5 mpi or > 60 mpi, soil type classed as sand/gravel, hardpan, fractured, or highly weathered rock, etc.).

(3) Shallow lines or fields will not be allowed on excessive slopes. The allowable slope of a useable area will depend on the trench or field depth and/or the soil type and perk rates but in no case will disposal be allowed on slopes greater than 30 percent.

(4) Any parcel highly restricted by geologic conditions (i.e. drainage, rock outcrops, etc.) or one that is too small to accommodate an appropriately sized graywater system while maintaining all applicable setbacks (as outlined below in Table 7.09-1) will not be allowed to discharge graywater.

(Ord. No. 1536)

Clothes washer system. A graywater system utilizing only a single domestic clothes washing machine in a one- or two-family dwelling shall be considered a clothes washer system.

Complex system. Graywater systems that discharge over 250 gallons (947 L) per day are considered complex systems.

Disposal areas. An intended destination for graywater including but not limited to a mulch basin, drip irrigation field, disposal leach field, or other method of disposal approved by the Enforcement Agency.

Disposal leach field. A trench system designed only for disposal of graywater.

Enforcement agency. Yuba County Environmental Health (YCEH).

Graywater. Pursuant to Health and Safety Code § 17922.12, "graywater" means untreated wastewater that has not been contaminated by any toilet discharge, has not been affected by infectious, contaminated, or unhealthy bodily wastes, and does not present a threat from contamination by unhealthful processing, manufacturing, or operating wastes. "Graywater" includes but is not limited to wastewater from bathtubs, showers, bathroom washbasins, clothes washing machines, and laundry tubs, but does not include wastewater from kitchen sinks or dishwashers.

Graywater system. A system designed to collect graywater and transport it out of the structure for distribution in an irrigation or disposal field. A graywater system may include tanks, valves, filters, pumps or other appurtenances along with piping and receiving landscape.

Drip irrigation field. An intended destination for graywater disposal that utilizes drip tubing and/or emitters that are dedicated to landscape irrigation (i.e. shrubs, trees, flower beds, etc.)

Mulch. Organic waste material including but not limited to leaves, pruning material, straw, pulled weeds and wood chips. Mulch shall be permeable enough to allow rapid infiltration of graywater.

Mulch basin. A type of irrigation or disposal field filled with mulch or other approved permeable material of sufficient depth, length and width to prevent ponding or runoff. A mulch basin may include a basin around a tree, a trough along a row of plants or other shapes necessary for irrigation or disposal.

Receiving landscape. Includes features such as soil, basins, swales, mulch, and plants.

Simple system. A graywater system serving a one- or two-family dwelling with a discharge of 250 gallons (947 L) per day or less are considered simple systems and exceed a clothes washer system.

Treated graywater. Non-potable water collected and treated on-site suitable for direct beneficial use.

(Ord. No. 1536)