“To think of Wastewater Reuse, one must alter the present way of thinking and embrace a new concept.”
—George Murgel
George Murgel
Water Reuse as a Water Management Strategy:
Presentation at Eastern Oregon Operators Conference
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines wastewater reuse as, “using wastewater or reclaimed water from one application for another application”. The EPA is tasked with protecting human health and the environment, through writing and enforcing regulations passed by Congress and working closely with states to implement programs.
“A common type of recycled water is water reclaimed from municipal wastewater (sewage).”
Water covers some 3/4ths of Earth’s surface, but only a small fraction is available for human use. While the supply is fixed, what gets used and where is a constantly changing target. The resource is also not uniformly distributed.
Due to rapid population growth in the arid west, the associated regulatory pressures related to water pollution controls and water shortages, there was encouragement for the use of reclaimed water.
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