Eagle County plans to keep graywater use off the table — for now — despite new Colorado regulations

A bill passed by the state Legislature in 2024 will permit homeowners to capture their in-home wastewater for reuse in non-potable applications, such as irrigation, beginning in January. But counties are required to regulate the process by which these systems, called graywater systems, are designed, installed and operated.

The Eagle County Board of Commissioners discussed whether to permit graywater systems in Eagle County on Nov. 18, as statewide legalization approaches in January. County officials concluded that Eagle County does not have the regulatory framework in place to do so, nor the staff to run such an operation.

What is graywater and why is it being discussed?

Graywater is the lightly used wastewater in homes that comes from sources like showers, bathtubs, bathroom sinks and washing machines.

A graywater system is a plumbing system that collects and reuses graywater for non-potable uses, such as irrigation.

Colorado’s Regulation 86, developed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Water Quality Control Division following legislation in 2013, banned graywater use statewide beginning in 2015. Local jurisdictions could opt in to allow graywater use, but Eagle County did not.

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An update to the state’s graywater regulations came in 2024 with House Bill 24-1362, which authorized graywater use statewide. The bill required local governments to opt out of the authorization of graywater systems in their jurisdictions by adopting a resolution or ordinance.

The bill is set to take effect beginning Jan. 1.

If the commissioners take no action, graywater use would become legal in Eagle County on that date. That would mean the county needs to develop regulatory mechanisms to review, approve and maintain graywater structures.

“We don’t have that regulatory process or those regulations in place at this point in time,” said Heath Harmon, the county’s public health director. “We have limited options given the time frame that we have.”

Harmon and Claire Lewandowski, the county’s environmental health manager, presented the commissioners with three options: to prohibit graywater use now and revisit permitting it at a later date; to defer action, meaning graywater use would become legal as of Jan. 1 with no structure for regulating it in Eagle County; or to initiate the development of rules that would allow and govern limited graywater use.

“Both option two and option three don’t necessarily have a feasible path given their time frames, so that’s why we landed with option one. It’s not because we don’t like the idea of graywater utilization,” Harmon said.

Lewandowski explained that graywater use has essentially been prohibited in Eagle County, since prior to the passage of the new law, counties had to opt in to the program.

“This House bill flipped that script and you have to opt out, otherwise you are essentially allowing graywater use,” Lewandowski said. “No action is action.”

Banning graywater use for the time being “would be maintaining status quo, gives us the ability to look into it further, do more research,” Lewandowski said. “The rules of graywater technology are set in Colorado Code of Regulations and Regulation 86, so we wouldn’t be building from the ground up, but it would be developing that into a full program. This prohibition would give us the time to monitor other counties and other options.”

If the county permits the use of graywater systems, it will need to develop a regulatory framework.

“On the Western Slope, there are a lot of unique challenges with graywater, especially in rural areas, including exemption wells that wouldn’t allow it anyway,” Lewandowski said.

“There are public health concerns with backflow prevention and cross connection from clean water, dirty water, and, of course, environmental health as water supply could be impacted, potentially,” Lewandowski said.

But “it is not feasible” for county staff to assemble a regulatory structure for graywater use by Jan. 1, Lewandowski said. The county would need regulations approved by the commissioners, along with staff to conduct design reviews, inspections and educate the public and professionals.

While the House bill permits statewide graywater use, it did not allocate funding to assist counties in developing regulatory structures for new programs.

“It’s also unfunded from the state level, so it would require some free structure, FTE, this type of developing and adopting enforcement and new rules,” Lewandowski said.

Low demand for graywater systems gives the county more time

County staff anticipate that the demand for graywater systems from Eagle County residents and property owners will be low. 

“It seems pretty uncertain at this time, but what we’re seeing in other jurisdictions is it’s a high cost to install a graywater system,” Lewandowski said.

If an Eagle County property owner wanted to install a graywater system, it would require completely new construction for indoor installation and would be similar to putting in a second septic system or second wastewater diversion system outdoors, Lewandowski said.

“It’s not … a simple irrigation. It’s more intense than that, and so that’s cost-prohibitive for people,” Lewandowski said.

Regulation 86 requires that graywater systems be installed by professionals, further heightening the cost of the project.

From an environmental perspective, graywater systems appear less efficient at reducing water use than other strategies.

In speaking with other counties and studying their research, “They’re seeing better use of water conservation in other areas, like ultra-high efficiency toilets or even transparency in monitor(ing) watering,” Lewandowski said. “Just people knowing how much water they’re using is making them use less.”

Pitkin County has had a graywater regulation system in place for seven years and has received zero permit requests so far, Harmon said.

“The public demand is not necessarily there yet, so it’s OK to delay this a little,” Harmon said. “We can come back as the technology improves, as the cost decreases and as the public interest increases.”

The commissioners directed Eagle County Public Health and Environment staff to return at a later Board of Commissioners meeting with a resolution to ban graywater use for the foreseeable future, likely in December. The county can revisit the ban at a later date if there is future interest in graywater systems among residents.