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Recycled Water
Located in the north San Francisco Bay Area, the Town of Windsor is a recognized leader among communities nationwide in the use of recycled water for agricultural and urban irrigation.
The Town of Windsor is already a leader among communities nationwide in the use of recycled water for the irrigation of agricultural lands, recreational facilities, schools, and residential front and back yards, which saves millions of gallons a year of precious fresh water for drinking and other human uses.
Windsor treats its wastewater to tertiary recycled water standards (also referred to as advanced water treatment) which is the highest level of treatment defined by the State. This level of treatment allows for unrestricted reuse in virtually all reclaimed water applications. The Town’s recycled water is monitored and tested daily to ensure that it consistently meets these high-quality standards.
For more information, see our Recycled Water FAQs page.
The Town of Windsor Recycled Water Residential Fill Station Program
The Town of Windsor would like to thank residents for participating in the residential recycled water fill station during the summer and fall of 2022. While the results from the fill station were successful, the Town was unable to support continuing the recycled water fill station.
While this particular resource will no longer be available, there are several other ways residents can offset potable water use in their homes and landscapes.
Rainwater or graywater systems are two great ways to save water and create a sustainable landscape in your home. Please check out these programs that the Town of Windsor has to offer:
Laundry-to-Landscape
The Town of Windsor offers FREE laundry-to-landscape parts kits, which can be installed easily to divert your gently used water from the washing machine to water your landscape. To apply and receive a free site visit and consultation please visit the Laundry-to-Landscape Graywater Program page.
Rainwater Harvesting
The Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership offers a rainwater harvesting rebate to all Sonoma County residents including Windsor. Residents can receive technical support for installing their systems as well as receive a $0.50 rebate per gallon on systems up to 5,000 gallons. To apply for this rebate, please visit Sonoma County Rainwater Harvesting Rebate Program - Sonoma- Marin Saving Water Partnership.
Thank you for caring about your water use and doing your part to conserve!
Additional Recycled Water Uses
In addition to the Town Green, Wilson Ranch Soccer Park, and the Windsor Golf Course, there are other places where recycled water irrigation is being used successfully.
Vintage Greens
The single-family homes in Windsor’s Vintage Greens subdivision are some of the first in Northern California to use recycled water to irrigate their front and back yards. The Vintage Greens housing community is sustainable, using the same amount of recycled water that each home contributes to the system.
If you are a resident in the Vintage Greens subdivision and would like to start recycled water service at your home, please read the Recycled Water User Guide, then complete the Recycled Water Application and contact the Town of Windsor Utility Billing Department by phone, 707-838-1004, or by e-mail at ub@townofwindsor.com.
Windsor High School
Windsor High School is an exceptional example of excellence in water and resource management. About 40 acres of high school property are irrigated with highly treated disinfected recycled water, which also is used to flush the toilets in the school. This has resulted in savings of about 1.4 million gallons of fresh water annually.
The use of recycled water along with other “green” practices helped the school and town share in the state's highest environmental honor for 2006, one of only 14 given out by then-governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Town's government and school district were singled out in the "sustainable community" category for pooling financial resources to help the environment and educate students to be good stewards of the environment.
The Town of Windsor’s recycled water is used to irrigate vineyards and pasture land around the Town. The Town also provides recycled water to Santa Rosa Junior College’s Shone Farm, which is located on the eastern outskirts of Windsor. The farm is a 365-acre diversified college facility that is a hands-on, outdoor field laboratory and learning environment.
In August 2023, Shone Farm was nominated for the WaterReuse Association's Recycled Water Customer of the Year. According to their website, "This award recognizes a recycled water user (customer) who has advanced the acceptance of water reuse through unique applications of recycled water and/or innovative marketing."
For more information on Windsor’s recycled water quality and how recycled water is produced, you can review the Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation System Facilities.