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Reclaimed Water:  A Valuable Resource

We need water to live.  Each of us requires just over 1/2 gallon of drinking water every day simply to maintain our health.  We also typically require more than 40 gallons each day for our hygiene needs.

Water is a finite and absolutely essential resource, so we must use it wisely and conserve it whenever and wherever we can.  But for many years we have used only potable water (water clean enough to drink) to fulfill all our water needs.  Whether we were washing clothes or our sidewalks; quenching our thirst or irrigating our lawns; or bathing our children or cooling hot metals, we used only water clean enough to drink.

But treating all water to the level needed for drinking and personal hygiene is costly and clearly wasteful of a precious and limited resource.  The water needed to quench hot metals obviously does not require the same treatment as water intended to quench your thirst.  Properly treated “reclaimed water,” instead of drinking water, can be and has been used safely, efficiently, and effectively for these non-potable purposes for many years in many states.

Water Reuse:  Its Many Benefits
Using reclaimed water, when environmentally and economically justified, maximizes the existing drinking water supplies.  This provides for future economic growth, results in more effective stewardship of our precious water resources, and can provide an economic alternative to water customers.  Additionally, consumptive reuse, where nutrients are consumed instead of being returned to receiving streams, is a critical part of reaching and maintaining the Chesapeake Bay’s nutrient reduction goals.

Reclaimed water offers many significant benefits:

• Conserves drinking water supplies
Reclaimed water can and has dramatically reduced current and future demands on high quality surface and ground water supplies.

• Reduces pollution
Using reclaimed water for other beneficial purposes reduces the nutrient load to the Chesapeake Bay.

• Provides a drought-proof water source
Because it is in constant supply, reclaimed water’s availability is largely unaffected by drought, thus it preserves many beneficial uses often subject to drought restrictions.

• Potentially saves money
Typically, reclaimed water is cheaper than drinking water because it requires little to no additional treatment over that of the high-quality wastewater currently discharged.

• Facilitates economic development
Regulatory caps place absolute limits on growth, but a reclaimed water program allows for continued but managed growth and development.

• Offsets the need for new water sources and treatment plants
Reclaimed water can delay both the need to find new drinking water resources and future expansions of water and wastewater treatment plants.  This, in turn, minimizes long-term capital investment costs.

• Protects the environment
Reclaiming and reusing water is the smart and right thing to do for the community and the environment.

Reclaimed Water:  What a Bargain!
Reclaimed water is a bargain.  It is a clean, high-quality, and useful product.  It conserves drinking water resources.  It reduces pollution.  It saves you money.  And it is available during droughts.

The following example shows the savings that can be realized when a lawn is irrigated with reclaimed water that costs 25 percent less than potable water.  (While water costs vary, this is the typical price difference.)  When irrigating an average lawn of 0.25 acres for 20 weeks you will use approximately 130,000 gallons of water.  Assuming that this volume of potable water cost $520, then the same volume of reclaimed water would cost $390.  In addition to achieving a savings of $120 over a 20-week period, reclaimed water irrigation:

• supplies valuable nutrients to a lawn,
• reduces the need for supplemental commercial fertilizers,
• reduces the nutrients discharged to the Chesapeake Bay,
• reduces the demand on drinking-water supplies in aquifers, reservoirs, and rivers,
• is available during times of drought, and
• helps create a cleaner, healthier environment.

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