भारतीय मानक IS 17662 : 2021

ISO 20469 : 2018

Indian Standard

जल के पुनर्प्रयोग हेतु जल गुणता श्रेणी

वर्गीकरण के मार्गदर्शी सिद्धांत

Guidelines for Water Quality Grade

Classification for Water Reuse

ICS 13.060.01

© BIS 2021

भारतीय मानक ब्रयू ो

B U R E A U O F I N D I A N S TA N D A R D S
मानक भवन, 9 बहादरु शाह ज़फर मार्ग, नई िदल्ली – 110002
MANAK BHAVAN, 9 BAHADUR SHAH ZAFAR MARG
NEW DELHI-110002
   www.bis.gov.in  
www.standardsbis.in

 Price Group 3
Environment Protection Sectional Committee, CHD 32

NATIONAL FOREWORD
This Indian Standard which is identical with ISO 20469 : 2018 ‘Guidelines for Water Quality Grade
Classification for Water Reuse’ issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) was
adopted by the Bureau of Indian Standards on recommendation of the Environment Protection Sectional
Committee and approved by the Chemical Division Council.
Water shortage and the feasibility of using reclaimed water to meet water demands for various
purposes is of great interest. However, the potential health implications of using reclaimed water is
also a concern. Health risks associated with inappropriate use of reclaimed water without knowing its
intended purpose. Therefore, it is important that the reuse application be clearly identified. Considering
the importance to develop standard for providing guidelines for water quality grade classification for
water to be reused and to follow the uniform practices globally, the Committee felt that it would be more
convenient to prepare this standard by adoption of ISO 20469 on dual numbering system.
The text of ISO Standard has been approved as suitable for publication as an Indian Standard
without deviations. Certain terminologies and conventions are, however, not identical to those used in
Indian Standards. Attention is particularly drawn to the following:
a) Wherever the words ‘International Standard’ appears referring to this standard, they should be
read as ‘Indian Standard’.
b) Comma (,) has been used as a decimal marker, while in Indian Standards, the current practice
is to use a point (.) as the decimal marker.
In this adopted standard, reference appears to the following International Standard for which
Indian Standard also exists. The corresponding Indian Standard, which is to be substituted in its place,
is listed below along with its degree of equivalence for the edition indicated:

International Standard Corresponding Indian Standard Degree of

Equivalence
ISO 20670 Water reuse — Vocabulary IS 17623 : 2021/ISO 20670 : 2018 Water Identical with
reuse — Vocabulary ISO 20670 :
2018

In reporting the result of a test or analysis made in accordance with this standard, if the final value,
observed or calculated, is to be rounded off, it shall be done in accordance with IS 2 : 1960 ‘Rules for
rounding off numerical values ( revised )’.
 ISO 20469:2018(E)
IS 17662 : 2021
ISO 20469 : 2018

Introduction
The reaffirmation of the importance of water along with food security and energy was a significant
outcome in the actions and the follow-up framework passed at the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development (Rio+20). With respect to the management of water resources, essential
actions include the prevention of water contamination, more efficient water usage, and the treatment
and best practices for reuse of wastewater as a water resource by households, industries, and
agriculture, particularly in growing urban areas.
Today, many regions in the world face water shortages, and the feasibility of using reclaimed water to
meet water demands for various purposes is of great interest. On the other hand, the potential health
implications of using reclaimed water is of global concern. This has led to an increasing need to specify
appropriate water quality parameters for specific reclaimed water applications, as well as develop
methods of assessing and managing health risks from both regulatory and application perspectives.
Unless these needs are addressed, opportunities for the development of sustainable and appropriate
reclaimed water applications will be lost.
Health risks associated with the use of reclaimed water occur when users use the reclaimed water
inappropriately without knowing its intended purpose. Therefore, it is important that the reuse
application be clearly identified.

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 IS 17662 : 2021
ISO 20469 : 2018
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 20469:2018(E)

Indian Standard
GUIDELINES FOR WATER QUALITY GRADE
GuidelinesCLASSIFICATION
for water qualityFOR
grade classification
WATER REUSE for
water reuse

1 Scope
This document provides guidelines for water quality grade classification to help users determine the
suitability and quality of the reclaimed water for safe non-potable reuse applications, based on the level
of exposure. The intention is to enable the water quality grade to be identified at the point of use.

2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 20670, Water reuse — Vocabulary

3 Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 20670 and the following, apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following URL
addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
3.1
water quality grade
grade of reclaimed water quality, indicating suitable reuse application based on the level of exposure

4 Water quality grade classification for reuse application

4.1 Water quality grade for reuse application

Water quality of reclaimed water is classified into three grades, reflecting the suitability for direct
public access and/or body contact:
— High grade: water quality suitable for non-potable water reuse applications with a high potential for
direct public access and/or body contact.
— Medium grade: water quality suitable for non-potable water reuse applications with a limited
potential for direct public access and/or body contact.
— Fair grade: water quality suitable for non-potable water reuse applications without potential for
direct public access and/or body contact.
A suitable water quality grade should be identified and determined at the discretion of the local
jurisdiction, authorities, regulators, etc.

1
© ISO 2018 – All rights reserved 1
ISO
IS 20469:2018(E)
17662 : 2021
ISO 20469 : 2018

4.2 Water quality grade classification

Table 1 shows the classifications of the water quality grades for reuse application of reclaimed water.

2
2 © ISO 2018 – All rights reserved
 Table 1 — Water quality grade classification for non-potable reuse application in relation to the level of treatment
Quality Examples of minimum treatment re-
Possible exposure Application examples
grade quirement
— recreational activities

— equipment and vehicle washing

Direct body contact — dust suppression in an urban environment

© ISO 2018 – All rights reserved

— urban stream augmentation without downstream potable water intake
— open public access
— public toilet and urinal flushing Secondary treatment with filtration and
High — access by children
— fire suppression water supply disinfection
— potential
for unintended — playground irrigation
ingestion and
inhalation — unrestricted urban irrigation

— agricultural irrigation of food crops consumed raw

— park and golf course surface irrigation, with unrestricted public access
— landscape water feature

— landscape impoundment

— industrial water applications

— manufacturing process water

— power facility and building cooling water

Incidental body contact
— irrigation of gardens with restricted public access
Medium (direct body contact is Secondary treatment and disinfection
not advised) — restricted urban irrigation

— agricultural irrigation of processed food crops

— irrigation of food crops other than vegetables (orchards, vineyards) and

horticulture

— park and golf course surface irrigation with restricted public access
IS 17662 : 2021
ISO 20469:2018(E)

33
ISO 20469 : 2018

— agricultural irrigation of non-food crops

 4
4
IS
Table 1 (continued)
ISO

Quality Examples of minimum treatment re-

Possible exposure Application examples
17662

grade quirement
: 2021
ISO 20469 : 2018

— irrigation of seeded crops

Secondary treatment
— agricultural forage crop irrigation high rate clarification with coagulation, floc-
20469:2018(E)

Fair Prohibit body contact

— irrigation of industrial and energy crops culation or
stabilization ponds
— landscape irrigation without public access
NOTE 1 “Application examples” and “Examples of minimum treatment requirement” can be set in accordance with standards in each country.
NOTE 2 The exposure frequency and exposure dose can be considered in relation to personal protection means and water quality grade classification for differ-
ent use applications.
NOTE 3 High quality grade should have adequate removal of pathogens for public health protection.
NOTE 4 When “Fair grade” reclaimed water is applied for landscape irrigation, it is sometimes important to take care of the aesthetic aspects, such as odour or
appearance.
NOTE 5 The secondary treatment is biological oxidation. See ISO 20468-1.
NOTE 6 “Treatment requirement” could be higher depending on the nature of the specific water “Application”.
NOTE 7 Further examples of minimum treatment requirement are available in ISO 16075-2 and ISO 20426.
NOTE 8 Water quality levels of ISO 16075-2 approximately correspond to the quality grades in this document as follows: A in ISO 16075-2 = High, B&C = Me-
dium, D&E = Fair.
NOTE 9 Water quality levels of ISO 20426 approximately correspond to the quality grades in this document as follows: A in ISO 20426 = High, B&C = Medium,
D = Fair.

© ISO 2018 – All rights reserved

 ISO 20469:2018(E)
IS 17662 : 2021
ISO 20469 : 2018

5 Display of water quality grades

The water quality grades should be displayed in locations where they can be seen and recognized
correctly by reclaimed water users at the time of use. Table 2 to 4 show the examples of water quality
grades and clear indications of the reuse applications and the related precautions.

Table 2 — Example of display of water quality grade (High grade)

Type of water Reclaimed water
Quality grade High
Application Toilet flushing

Precautions

Not drinking water

Table 3 — Example of display of water quality grade (Medium grade)

Type of water Reclaimed water
Quality grade Medium
Landscape
Application
impoundment

Precautions

No swimming

Table 4 — Example of display of water quality grade (Fair grade)

Type of water Reclaimed water
Quality grade Fair
Landscape irrigation without
Application
public access
Precautions Do not trespass

In addition to the information on the reuse application and the related precautions shown in Table 2 to
Table 4, the following complementary information is beneficial, and helps users ensure proper and safe
use of reclaimed water if it is displayed at the places of end use with water quality grades:
— types of source water;
— prohibited types of reuse application;
— notifications for exposed persons;
— type of treatment.
— commonly used symbols
Prohibited types of reuse application for each grade should be determined on the basis of the result of
health risk assessment of reclaimed water. See ISO 20426.

© ISO 2018 – All rights reserved 55

ISO
IS 20469:2018(E)
17662 : 2021
ISO 20469 : 2018

Bibliography

[1] ISO 16075-1, Guidelines for treated wastewater use for irrigation projects — Part 1: The basis of a
reuse project for irrigation
[2] ISO 16075-2, Guidelines for treated wastewater use for irrigation projects — Part 2: Development
of the project
[3] ISO 16075-3, Guidelines for treated wastewater use for irrigation projects — Part 3: Components of
a reuse project for irrigation
[4] ISO 16075-4, Guidelines for treated wastewater use for irrigation projects — Part 4: Monitoring
[5] ISO 20426, Guidelines for health risk assessment and management for non-potable water reuse
[6] ISO 20468-1, Guidelines for performance evaluation of treatment technologies for water reuse
systems — Part 1: General
[7] ISO 20760-1, Water reuse in urban areas — Guidelines for centralized water reuse system — Part 1:
Design principle of a centralized water reuse system
[8] ISO 20760-2, Water reuse in urban areas — Guidelines for centralized water reuse system — Part 2:
Management of a centralized water reuse system
[9] ISO 20761, Water reuse in urban areas — Guidelines for water reuse safety evaluation: assessment
parameters and methods

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harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods
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Review of Indian Standards

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reviewed periodically; a standard along with amendments is reaffirmed when such review indicates that
no changes are needed; if the review indicates that changes are needed, it is taken up for revision.
Users of Indian Standards should ascertain that they are in possession of the latest amendments or
edition by referring to the latest issue of ‘BIS Catalogue’ and ‘Standards: Monthly Additions’.
This Indian Standard has been developed from Doc No.: CHD 32 (15272).

Amendments Issued Since Publication

Amend No. Date of Issue Text Affected

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