Water Reuse

Expanding water reuse—the use of treated wastewater for beneficial purposes including irrigation, industrial uses, and drinking water augmentation—could significantly increase the nation's total available water resources. Water Reuse presents a portfolio of treatment options available to mitigate water quality issues in reclaimed water along with new analysis suggesting that the risk of exposure to certain microbial and chemical contaminants from drinking reclaimed water does not appear to be any higher than the risk experienced in at least some current drinking water treatment systems, and may be orders of magnitude lower. This report recommends adjustments to the federal regulatory framework that could enhance public health protection for both planned and unplanned (or de facto) reuse and increase public confidence in water reuse.

• Front Matter
• Summary
• 1 A New Era of Water Management
• 2 Current State of Water Reuse
• 3 Water Quality
• 4 Wastewater Reclamation Technology
• 5 Ensuring Water Quality in Water Reclamation
• 6 Understanding the Risks
• 7 Evaluating the Risks of Potable Reuse in Context
• 8 Ecological Enhancement via Water Reuse
• 9 Costs
• 10 Social, Legal, and Regulatory Issues and Opportunities
• 11 Research Needs
• References
• Acronyms
• Appendixes
• Appendix A: Details in Support of the Risk Exemplar in Chapter 6
• Appendix B: Computation of Average Daily Dose
• Appendix C: Survey of Water Reclamation Costs
• Appendix D: Water Science and Technology Board
• Appendix E: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members