Illuminating elimination: public perception and the production of potable water reuse

Abstract

Given the scope of water and sanitation challenges posed by climate change and continued urbanization, potable water recycling is gaining traction as a means to expand urban water supply and decrease wastewater disposal into waterways. No longer regarded as a system by-product without value, planners increasingly consider wastewater a displaced resource in need of recirculation. The literature suggests that public perception and institutional barriers are the limiting factors to greater recapture and reuse of wastewater. Implicitly accepting water recycling as a sustainable alternative, much of the research is aimed at overcoming public opposition. However, the trend toward potable water recycling disrupts the normally hidden processes of urban water delivery, treatment, and disposal. In doing so, it provides a rare opportunity to contemplate taken-for-granted technologies of waterborne sanitation and to recognize alternative modes of managing human excrement, including composting toilets and dry sanitation.

Toilet power: potable water reuse and the situated meaning of sustainability in the southwestern United States

“…Although planning for potable water reuse has become steadily institutionalized over time, its application remains highly uneven and most operational projects are in the United States (US) and remain concentrated in or around coastal California (EPA 2017). Facilities in southern California have served as moral, political, intellectual leaders on potable water reuse, however most of the IPR systems were established decades before public consultation was considered critical to project success (Ormerod 2016). Despite industry acceptance, the current state of public acceptance in most places is unknown.…”

Linking Microbial Community Composition in Treated Wastewater with Water Quality in Distribution Systems and Subsequent Health Effects

“…In some processes H 2 O 2 is added before UV treatment as well as lime to further stabilize the purified water [2]. In most cases, these processes may reduce microbial population to an undetectable level, and at this point the water is ready to be acceptable for numerous applications, from irrigation and industrial processing to domestic water supply [3]. Orange County Water District's groundwater replenishment system has one of the largest and most internationally recognized potable water recycling operations that currently serves 2.4 million residents in Orange County, California [3][4][5].…”

“…In most cases, these processes may reduce microbial population to an undetectable level, and at this point the water is ready to be acceptable for numerous applications, from irrigation and industrial processing to domestic water supply [3]. Orange County Water District's groundwater replenishment system has one of the largest and most internationally recognized potable water recycling operations that currently serves 2.4 million residents in Orange County, California [3][4][5]. This is one of the most efficient potable water recycling facilities in the world that is providing promising solutions to many of the water supply or wastewater disposal challenges currently facing urban planners noted Ormerod [3].…”

Of Dreamliners and Drinking Water: Developing Risk Regulation and a Safety Culture for Direct Potable Reuse

“…Overall, the idea of purifying wastewater and returning it to taps is not new (Leverenz et al 2011; WateReuse Association 2015). Extensive (indirect) potable reuse systems are already planned or in operation in Namibia, Singapore, California, Texas, Arizona, and Florida (Gerrity et al 2013;National Research Council 2012;Ormerod 2016;Tchobanoglous et al 2011). Since the late 1960s, water utilities in Southern California have successfully operated systems that recharge groundwater aquifers with purified wastewater (Harris-Lovett and Sedlak 2015).…”