The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meaning unless the text clearly indicates otherwise:

"Board" means the State Water Control Board.

"Crop" means a living or once-living plant or part of it which is or could be harvested for value. The term includes conventional farm crops, hay, pasture, nursery and forest crops. Permanent turf and landscapings are not crops and are subject to the 10,000 gallons per day reporting threshold.

"Daily average withdrawal" shall be calculated by dividing the total quantity of water withdrawn in each calendar month by the number of days in that month.

"Department" means the Department of Environmental Quality.

"Gage" means a device or methodology for measuring cumulative volume of water withdrawn. For users subject to the Virginia Department of Health Waterworks Regulations, the gage shall satisfy the provisions of those regulations and shall produce volume determinations within ± 10% of truth. For all other users, the gage shall be consistent with sound generally-accepted engineering practice and shall produce volume determinations within ± 10% of truth.

"Person" means the Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions; or an individual, corporation, partnership, association, authority, interstate body, or a state; or an agency, municipality, commission, or political subdivision of a state.

"User" means any person making a withdrawal of surface water or groundwater from an original source (e.g., a river, stream, lake, aquifer, or reservoir fed by any such water body), regardless of whether the user himself uses the water thus withdrawn or transfers it to another for use. The purchase of water from a waterworks by a customer of it does not constitute a withdrawal.

"VPDES" means the Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, which is the Virginia system for the issuance of permits pursuant to the Permit Regulation (9VAC25-31-10), the State Water Control Law and § 402 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC § 1342), authorizing the discharge of pollutants from a point source to surface waters.

A. Measuring. Every nonexempt user other than crop irrigators shall have installed and shall operate a gaging device or methodology before commencing withdrawal and shall operate the device or methodology routinely thereafter. The gaging device or methodology shall measure the cumulative volume of water withdrawn at or near the source of withdrawal, or at the water treatment plant. Nonexempt crop irrigators shall comply with these measuring provisions by January 31, 1991, or before commencing withdrawal, whichever is later.

B. Reporting.

1. Every nonexempt user shall file with the board by January 31 of each year a reporting form, as prescribed by the board, completed insofar as it pertains to his withdrawal for the calendar year preceding. The information reported shall include the user's name, address, sources and locations of withdrawal, cumulative volume of water withdrawn each month of the calendar year, maximum day withdrawal and the month in which it occurred, and method of withdrawal measurement.

2. Nonexempt crop irrigators shall comply with these reporting provisions by January 31, 1992, or before commencing withdrawal, whichever is later.

3. Beginning January 1, 2027, any water user required to report water withdrawal and use data pursuant to this chapter that provides water to another person offsite shall include in its report, submitted on its regular reporting schedule, the total volume of potable water and, reported separately, the total volume of reclaimed water provided during each month for each of the following categories:

a. A data center, as that term is defined in subdivision A 43 of § 58.1-3506 of the Code of Virginia, with an air permit issued by the Department and

b. To the extent available without utility billing system modifications

(1) Domestic purposes,

(2) Commercial and industrial purposes, separately or combined as available, and

(3) All other non-categorized purposes.

Where monthly data is not available, such data may be submitted based on the total volumes provided during each quarter. For purposes of this subdivision, "reclaimed water" means water that has been treated and repurposed from wastewater or non-potable sources.