Abstract
Fiscal, physical, environmental and political consideration have severally restricted building new reservoirs to meet municipal water needs in Texas and throughout the American west. Water management is transitioning from an era of reservoir construction to one of more intensive management through conservation, reallocation, desalination, rainwater harvesting, aquifer storage and recovery and reusing treated effluent as means of meeting water supply needs. As opportunities for conventional water supply development dwindle and costs for wastewater treatment and disposal climb, the role water reuse plays in water resource management increases significantly. Both nonpotable and potable applications of reclaimed water offer a means to extend and maximize the utility of limited water resources. Increasing biological and microbiological knowledge, improved wastewater treatment technology, and strict legal requirements on the quality of discharged effluent have elevated the notion of wastewater reuse to a realistic water supply alternative.
Comments
Abstracts of presentations given on Tuesday, 18 July 2006, in session 3 of the UCOWR Conference.