Unlike
some of earth’s other natural resources,
water has many potential lives. After
serving a primary function in urban or
agricultural settings, water may be reclaimed,
treated to meet a desired degree of purity,
and reused for many nonpotable (nondrinking)
purposes. These might include the maintenance
of golf courses, highway medians, or office
parks. Many communities use reclaimed
wastewater in utility cooling towers and
manufacturing processes, for fire fighting
or street cleaning, to irrigate agriculture,
or recharge wetlands in times of drought.
In 1980, in the absence of national reuse
regulations, EPA published the first edition
of Guidelines for Water Reuse. While sources
of water for reclamation may range from
industrial process wastewaters to stormwater
runoff, the EPA guidelines focused on
the effluent generated by domestic wastewater
treatment facilities. In 1992 a second
edition was published, doubled in size
and updated with new information including
an inventory of state regulations and
treatment guidelines. This year the book
is being updated again. Published and
distributed by EPA’s Technology
Transfer program, the 2004 Guidelines
for Water Reuse include public health
issues, state requirements and problems
of emerging pathogens and chemicals of
concern. But the basic objectives of the
document remain the same: to make water
managers and resource planners aware of
the proven practices of water reclamation.
For more about this valuable ‘new’
resource, visit our Research
Highlights web page.
Contact: Patricia Schultz, Office of Public
Affairs, 513-569-7966, or e-mail to:
schultz.patricia@epa.gov
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