What House Bill 1184 Means for Non-Potable Water Use in Washington State

On July 25th, House Bill 1184 took effect in Washington State. This comes 2 months after the initial signing of the Bill by Governor Inslee in May of 2021. Through this legislature, the Department of Health (DOH) will develop rules to allow onsite non-potable water reuse throughout the state. The DOH will utilize the Risk-Based Framework created by the National Blue Ribbon Commission for Onsite Non-potable Water Systems to develop requirements. Once established, these rules will lessen the strain on Washington’s drinking water resources by allowing rainwater, graywater and blackwater to be treated onsite and reused for toilet flushing, irrigation, clothes washing, cooling towers, and other non-potable uses.

Herrera is proud of our team’s efforts in advocating for this bill. Starting in January of 2021, Colleen Mitchell, PE and Chris Webb PE contacted local representatives for bipartisan sponsorship, in addition to submitting a testimony in support of the bill. Colleen and Chris also connected AIA Seattle’s Manager of Policy and Advocacy with City of Seattle Policy Strategists and other industry professionals to support this legislature. During the rule making process, Colleen will represent the design and development community as a stakeholder advisory group member. Rule development will begin in the coming months.