Opportunities for non-potable water reuse in the United States based on a supply-demand assessment and review of state policies

As the effects of water scarcity grow in the United States and across the globe, alternative water sources become a more attractive option to supplement or replace traditional water resources. Reclaimed municipal wastewater can be an especially attractive alternative because of its widespread availability, but the implementation and long-term success of these projects dependent on a number of considerations. This work identifies regions in the contiguous United States where specific criteria are met and suggests that water reuse could be a successful solution for local water scarcity concerns. The criteria considered here are the existence of state-level regulations or policies describing appropriate water reuse, local treated wastewater resources, and non-potable water demands for irrigated agriculture, industry and manufacturing, and power generation. This analysis includes an examination of existing state legislation, regulations, or policy guidelines that allow water reuse for non-potable end uses. The results of this analysis inform which wastewater treatment plants can serve as suppliers of water for reuse based on their current treatment processes. Collectively, these analyses find that non-potable water reuse has the potential to offset significant local water demands, even if the aggregate water supply replacement is minor. Water resource decisions made at a local level require the consideration of a number of unique factors that are difficult to study at a national level. This work serves as an initial analysis that can support future feasibility studies at a local scale.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Civil Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Hastie, Allisa Grace

Contributors dc:contributor

• Stillwell, Ashlynn S

• water reuse
• environmental policy
• water-energy-food nexus

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Allisa Hastie

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115406

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F115406