NRC report calls for wastewater recycling in the US

A new report by the National Research Council (NRC) calls for treatment and reuse of municipal wastewater, which could help the US Government increase and secure exiting water resources for future needs.

The report says that the treated wastewater could be used for drinking, irrigation, industry and other purposes; it has been written by R. Rhodes Trussell, who chairs the NRC committee. According to new analysis, possible health risks from exposure to chemical contaminants and disease-causing microbes from wastewater reuse are significantly lower than those of existing water supplies.

Trussell Technologies president R. Rhodes Trussell said that wastewater reuse is set to become a legitimate part of the country’s water supply portfolio due to the recent improvements in treatment processes. "Although reuse is not a panacea, wastewater discharged to the environment is of such quantity that it could measurably complement water from other sources and management strategies," he said.

The report examines the reuse applications, including potable water, non-potable urban and industrial uses, irrigation, groundwater recharge, as well as ecological enhancements. It said that the quality of water for reuse can be improved by applying the existing legislative tools, including updating the national pretreatment programme’s list of priority pollutants to include a wider inventory of known toxic substances.

The study also found that many communities have already implemented water reuse projects, including irrigating golf courses and parks or providing industrial cooling water in locations near wastewater reclamation plants. It also lists wastewater treatment technologies, which can be used to improve wastewater plants to meet the necessary quality requirements.