Reclaimed Water...Public or Private?

Is reclaimed water a basic public resource or a privately manufactured product? That is the question before the Florida Legislature this session, as it decides how to classify the state's large supply of wastewater that is treated and used again, often for lawn irrigation or recharging aquifers. 

Current Florida law subjects all state waters to permitting based upon "beneficial use" in the public interest. But the bill up for debate would exclude reclaimed water from "waters of the state," granting sole ownership of the resources to the utilities that produce it.

Under the bill, state water management districts could not dictate how reclaimed water is used, even during an emergency shortage. If the bill becomes law, it will dramatically change the way that reclaimed water is distributed in our state.