Raleigh, N.C. — A City Council committee on Wednesday recommended delaying a planned project to build a 17-mile pipeline that would allow some municipal water customers to use treated wastewater for outdoor irrigation.

The $20 million pipeline would pump treated wastewater from the city's Neuse River plant southeast of the city to North Carolina State University's Centennial Campus. Large water users like golf courses, hospitals, businesses and N.C. State could tap into the system for watering, washing outdoor surfaces and other non-potable uses.

The city has already spent $5 million on the project, but Councilman Russ Stephenson said he didn't like the idea of spending so much money on a system few water customers could use.

Councilwoman Mary Ann Baldwin suggested the city move forward with a $2 million phase of the project, but no one else on the Public Works Committee would second the motion.

Instead, Stephenson and Councilman Rodger Koopman said they want more time to examine the future of the project.