{"id":426,"date":"2026-07-13T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpmwes.com\/blog\/?p=426"},"modified":"2026-07-02T18:05:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T18:05:45","slug":"bmp-10-non-compliance-consequences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmwes.com\/blog\/bmp-10-non-compliance-consequences\/","title":{"rendered":"What Happens If I Don’t Comply with BMP 10?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you operate a cooling tower in California, you’ve probably heard of BMP 10 \u2014 Best Management Practice 10 for cooling towers, established by the California Department of Water Resources<\/a>. But what actually happens if your building doesn’t comply? The consequences range from financial penalties to losing your eligibility for water efficiency incentives, depending on your water district and enforcement approach.<\/p>\n

What BMP 10 Requires<\/h2>\n

BMP 10 is a California state guideline that establishes water efficiency standards for commercial and industrial cooling towers. The core requirements include operating at maximum practical cycles of concentration (typically 5 or more for most water qualities), installing conductivity controllers for automated blowdown management, using recycled or non-potable water where available, minimizing drift losses with proper drift eliminators, and eliminating single-pass cooling systems.<\/p>\n

The goal is straightforward: reduce the amount of fresh water cooling towers consume by optimizing their operation. Cooling towers are one of the largest commercial water users in the state, and California’s ongoing water supply challenges make efficiency in this area a priority. Understanding your tower’s cycles of concentration<\/a> is the foundation of BMP 10 compliance.<\/p>\n

Consequences of Non-Compliance<\/h2>\n

BMP 10 itself is a state guideline, not a regulation with direct enforcement teeth. However, local water districts incorporate BMP 10 requirements into their own ordinances, which do have enforcement mechanisms. The consequences typically follow a progression. First, you may receive a notice of non-compliance from your water district identifying the specific deficiencies. This is usually followed by a deadline to submit a corrective action plan.<\/p>\n

If you don’t respond or don’t make corrections, the consequences escalate. Some districts impose penalty rates \u2014 higher per-unit water charges for buildings that haven’t demonstrated cooling tower efficiency measures. Others restrict access to rebate and incentive programs \u2014 if you want utility rebates for other water-saving measures, your cooling tower must be in compliance first. In severe cases, districts can impose fines that range from hundreds to thousands of dollars per month.<\/p>\n

Perhaps more significantly, non-compliance can affect your sewer credit eligibility<\/a>. Some California water districts tie sewer credit approvals to BMP 10 compliance \u2014 if your cooling tower doesn’t meet the efficiency standards, your credit application may be denied or your existing credits may be suspended until you demonstrate compliance.<\/p>\n

Getting Into Compliance<\/h2>\n

The good news is that BMP 10 compliance is achievable for virtually any cooling tower, and the measures required typically pay for themselves through reduced water consumption. The most impactful step is optimizing your cycles of concentration. If your tower is running at 2 or 3 cycles and your water quality supports 5 or more, the water savings from increasing cycles alone can be 20 to 30 percent of total makeup volume.<\/p>\n

Installing a conductivity controller \u2014 which automatically manages blowdown based on real-time water quality measurements \u2014 is the standard approach. These controllers cost $2,000 to $5,000 installed and eliminate the guesswork from blowdown management. Combined with proper submetering<\/a>, you’ll have both the operational efficiency BMP 10 requires and the data documentation your sewer credit application needs.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of Energy’s cooling tower guidelines<\/a> provide complementary federal guidance that aligns closely with California’s BMP 10 standards. Following both sets of recommendations positions your building for compliance across jurisdictions.<\/p>\n

Beyond California<\/h2>\n

While BMP 10 is a California-specific guideline, similar requirements exist or are emerging in other water-stressed regions. Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and Nevada all have water efficiency programs that reference cooling tower optimization standards. Buildings that proactively adopt BMP 10-level practices are better positioned when their local jurisdiction strengthens its requirements \u2014 which, given national water supply trends, is increasingly likely.<\/p>\n

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Ready to Find Out What You Could Save?<\/h3>\n

RPM Water Equity Solutions helps commercial facilities recover money lost to sewer billing assumptions. If your building has cooling towers, you may be paying sewer charges on water that never reaches the sewer system.<\/p>\n

Request your free assessment today<\/a><\/strong> and find out how much you could recover.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Compliance Pays for Itself<\/h2>\n

BMP 10 compliance isn’t just about avoiding penalties \u2014 it’s about running your cooling tower as efficiently as possible. Every measure the standard requires \u2014 optimizing cycles, automating blowdown, reducing drift \u2014 saves water and money. Non-compliance means you’re paying more for water than you need to, paying more in sewer charges than you should, and potentially losing access to credit programs that would offset your costs further. The smart move is compliance, and the financial case makes it an easy decision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BMP 10 sets California’s cooling tower water efficiency standards. Learn what non-compliance means for your building and how to get into compliance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cooling-tower-operations","category-sewer-credits-and-incentives"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmwes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmwes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmwes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmwes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmwes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rpmwes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":522,"href":"https:\/\/rpmwes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426\/revisions\/522"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmwes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmwes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmwes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmwes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}