|
|
Water Reuse Water Facts — Reclaimed water is becoming a valuable renewable water resource. It is typically used for turf irrigation, accounting for about 2% of total water use in Arizona (ADWR, 2008).
In urban areas, about 40% of water delivered to homes by community water systems is eventually discharged to the sewer system and then treated in wastewater treatment plants. Once treated, this dependable water source can be reused for agriculture, parks or golf courses, or used to recharge the aquifer. However, reclaimed water is usually about 1.5 times higher in TDS than the original water source. For example, if the water source has 300 mg/L TDS, the reclaimed water will have about 450 mg/LTDS. Also, wastewater treatments kill or remove most pathogens, but do not remove all residual (trace) organic chemicals. The removal of excess salts and trace amounts of residual organic chemicals would increase the cost of wastewater treatment significantly. Reclaimed water is considered safe for irrigation and ground water recharge, but direct use as a drinking water source requires additional treatment. |