Decision Support System for Selection of Satellite vs. Regional Treatment for Reuse

As potable water costs increase and water supplies dwindle, communities are turning to advanced treatment systems that recycle and reuse wastewater as an alternative water source. For some utilities recharging reclaimed water for underground storage and indirect potable reuse, a regional plant may be the best solution. For other utilities, it may be cost-prohibitive to pump and distribute reclaimed wastewater for direct uses through miles of distribution lines from a centralized treatment plant. Consequently, utilities are more frequently considering satellite reclamation systems for water reuse as an alternative to expanding regional wastewater treatment facilities. The project developed the Decision Support System (DSS) tool, which provide a broadly applicable, standardized approach to evaluating satellite wastewater reclamation systems as an alternative to traditional regional wastewater reclamation facilities. The DSS is intended to support water, wastewater, or regional planning agencies in the United States in preliminary planning activities as an aid to the decision-making process where new treatment and distribution infrastructure is being considered for water reuse. It is intended for simplified formulation and evaluation of alternative reclamation systems.

Originally funded as WERF project Reuse-04-14.