potable reuse in texas: a glimpse into the new water frontier
DESCRIPTION
Potable Reuse in Texas: A Glimpse into the New Water Frontier. Ellen McDonald, Ph.D., P.E. Alan Plummer Associates, Inc. Acknowledgments. City of Brownwood David Harris, Director of Utilities City of Wichita Falls Daniel Nix, Operations Manager El Paso Water Utilities - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Potable Reuse in Texas: A Glimpse into the New
Water Frontier
Ellen McDonald, Ph.D., P.E.Alan Plummer Associates, Inc.
Acknowledgments
• City of Brownwood– David Harris, Director of Utilities
• City of Wichita Falls– Daniel Nix, Operations Manager
• El Paso Water Utilities– Irazema Rojas, Environmental
Compliance Manager• ARCADIS• Freese and Nichols
Evolution of Reuse in Texas
Series1
1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020
Year
Agricultural
Industrial
Municipal
PlannedUnplannedIndirect Potable
Direct Potable
DPR in the Barton Springs Zone?
Major Texas Potable Reuse Projects
• Trinity River Basin projects
• El Paso• Colorado River
Municipal Water District
WTP
Evolution of Potable Reuse
Environmental Buffer
WWTP
?
CRMWD at Big Spring Project
Other DPR Projects In Process
Wichita Falls
EL PASO
Stay tuned… there are more on the way!
Wichita Falls Emergency DPR Project
• Use existing MF/RO facility to treat effluent from WWTP
• RO permeate to be blended 50/50 with raw water from lakes
• Blended water to be treated at conventional WTP
• Pipeline from WWTP to WTP laid above ground
Source: www.timesrecordnews.com/photos/galleries/2014/feb/04/inside-look-water-reuse-project/12132/#section_headery's
City of Brownwood
Conservation pool: 1424.6 ft
City of Brownwood – Proposed System (1.5 MGD)
• Estimated Cost - $8.5 Million• Project Status:
– TWDB funding approved Sept. 2012– TCEQ construction approval Dec. 2012
• No blending required• Requires full-scale verification
– Awaiting council approval to move forward
El Paso Water Utilities
• Existing Supplies– Rio Grande– Groundwater
• Hueco Bolson Aquifer• Mesilla Bolson Aquifer
– Reclaimed water• Nonpotable reuse• Groundwater recharge
Elephant Butte Reservoir18.4% Full as of April 22, 2014
Advanced Purified
WTP
Roberto R. Bustamante
WWTPwith Additional
Treatment
Brine disposal:Blend w/WWTP effluent = 1.8 MGD
Riverside Irrigation Canal
Distribution System
Rio Bosque Wetland Park
Reclaimed Water 10 MGD
Reclaimed Water
Customers
Outfall
MF Backwash to RBWWTP Headworks = 1 MGD
7.2 MGD
Advanced Purified WTP Concept
WTP
Advanced Treatment for DPR
WWTP
Microfiltration or Ultrafiltration
Reverse Osmosis
UV/AOP Activated Carbon
Ozone/BAC
ConcentrateDisposal
“Engineered Storage” and Monitoring
The 4 “R’s” of Treatment for DPR
Redundancy f(# of barriers
targeting a contaminant)
Robustness f(treatment process
diversity)
Resiliencef(failure response
protocols)
RELIABILITY
The bandwagon is tempting…
Direct Potable Reusethe solution to your water supply woes
Proceed Carefully!
Questions to ask before jumping on the bandwagon
• What are relevant regulations?• What are appropriate water quality
performance targets?• What treatment schemes can be used?• What monitoring is needed?
Questions to ask before jumping on the bandwagon
• What operations skills are needed?• How much will the project cost?• Are there other options?• Will the public support the project?
Texas Water Development Board DPR Research Initiatives
• “Evaluating the Potential for Direct Potable Reuse in Texas”– Develop resource document for DPR
implementation• “Testing Water Quality in a Municipal
Wastewater Effluent Treated to Drinking Water Standards”– Testing at CRMWD DPR facility– Develop monitoring guidelines for DPR
National DPR Research Focus Areas
• Alternative treatment schemes• Blending and storage needs• Treatment operations and reliability• Monitoring strategies• Quality assurance• Public education and communication
