Wastewater Reclamation And Reuse

Wastewater Reclamation And Reuse

WASTEWATER RECLAMATION AND REUSE

In many locations where the available supply of fresh water has become inadequate to meet water needs, it is clear that the once-used water collected from communities and municipalities must be viewed not as a waste to be disposed of but as a resource that must be reused. The concept of reuse is becoming accepted more widely as other parts of the country experience water shortages. The use of dual water systems, such as now used in St. Petersburg in Florida and Rancho Viejo in California, is expected to increase in the future. In both locations, treated effluent is used for landscape watering and other non potable uses. Satellite reclamation systems such as those used in the Los Angeles basin, where wastewater flows are mined (withdrawn from collection systems) for local treatment and reuse, are examples where transportation and treatment costs of reclaimed water can be reduced significantly. Because water reuse is expected to become of even greater importance in the future.

Current Status

Most of the reuse of wastewater occurs in the arid and semiarid western and southwestern states of the United States; however, an increasing number of reuse projects are occurring in the south including Florida and South Carolina. Because of health and safety concerns, water reuse applications are mostly restricted to non potable uses such as landscape and agricultural irrigation. In a report by the National Research Council (1998), it was concluded that indirect potable reuse of reclaimed water (introducing reclaimed water to augment a potable water source before treatment) is viable. The report also stated that direct potable reuse (introducing reclaimed water directly into a water distribution system) was not practicable. Because of the concerns about potential health effects associated with the reclaimed water reuse, plans are proceeding slowly about expanding reuse beyond agricultural and landscape irrigation, groundwater recharge for repelling saltwater intrusion, and non potable industrial uses (e.g., boiler water and cooling water).

New Directions and Concerns

Many of the concerns mentioned in the National Research Council (NRC, 1998) report regarding potential microbial and chemical contamination of water supplies also apply to water sources that receive incidental or unplanned wastewater discharges. A number of communities use water sources that contain a significant wastewater component. Even though these sources, after treatment, meet current drinking water standards, the growing knowledge of the potential impacts of new trace contaminants raises concern. Conventional technologies for both water and wastewater treatment may be incapable of reducing the levels of trace contaminants below where they are not considered as a potential threat to public health. Therefore, new technologies that offer significantly improved levels of treatment or constituent reduction need to be tested and evaluated. Where indirect potable reuse is considered, risk assessment also becomes an important component of a water reuse investigation. Risk assessment is addressed in Chap. 13.

Future Trends in Technology

Technologies that are suitable for water reuse applications include membranes (pressure-driven, electrically driven, and membrane bioreactors), carbon adsorption, advanced oxidation, ion exchange, and air stripping. Membranes are most significant develop- ments as new products are now available for a number of treatment applications. Mem- branes had been limited previously to desalination, but they are being tested increasingly for wastewater applications to produce high-quality treated effluent suitable for reclamation. Increased levels of contaminant removal not only enhance the product for reuse but also lessen health risks.