PREDICTIONS

Five predictions of the state of the water reuse industry:

#1 – The cost of water will be equivalent to the cost of other utilities

Future imported water supply opportunities will be costly (such as fixing the Bay Delta). Furthermore, with increased conservation, costs will increase since the fixed costs of a water system are distributed over reduced water sales. The good news is that since the cost of reuse projects will be compared to the melded rate of all supplies, a higher water rate will make reuse projects more financially attractive.

#2 – Technology advances will allow direct potable reuse

Thirty years ago, membrane technology was in its infancy. Today, it is an industry standard. Technology advancements will continue and some of today’s concepts will be commercialized tomorrow. Real time monitoring will be developed and commercialized, eliminating one of the obstacles to direct potable reuse. Finally, genetic engineers, driven by the green movement and alternative energy development, will develop bacteria that will move efficiently convert biomass to fuel.

#3 – Full integration of resource management in reuse planning will occur

Today, the product water from a wastewater treatment plant owned by a wastewater agency) receives additional treatment by a water agency to make it useable for groundwater recharge. Solids are handled by the wastewater agency. In other word, we bolt-on advanced treatment to a wastewater plant. The interim step will be to integrate the liquid processes to achieve some efficiencies. The long-term prediction is that wastewater treatment, advanced treatment and solids management will be fully integrated into a “total urban resource recovery system”; that is, wastewater in and useable water, energy, fertilizer and carbon credits out.

#4 - The nexus between water and energy and the public response to climate change will impact how we view the cost of water

Water users will be billed not by the units of water they use, but rather by the carbon footprint that is created by developing the water supply. For example, groundwater will have low carbon foot print while desalination will have a high carbon footprint.

#5 – The pace of reuse development will be relatively slow unless we have a crisis.

Rahm Emmaual, Chief of Staff for President Barack Obama, once said: “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” The water crisis that no one can predict but is real is the collapse of the Bay Delta due to a major seismic event, which could result in loss of up to one million acre-feet of imported supply. Our immediate response will be conservation, including converting all landscapes to drought tolerant or desert landscapes. Intermediate response is indirect potable reuse, such as groundwater recharge and surface water augmentation. The long-term reponse will be the development of direct potable reuse projects.

PREDICTIONS

Five predictions of the state of the water reuse industry:

#1 – The cost of water will be equivalent to the cost of other utilities

Future imported water supply opportunities will be costly (such as fixing the Bay Delta). Furthermore, with increased conservation, costs will increase since the fixed costs of a water system are distributed over reduced water sales. The good news is that since the cost of reuse projects will be compared to the melded rate of all supplies, a higher water rate will make reuse projects more financially attractive.

#2 – Technology advances will allow direct potable reuse

Thirty years ago, membrane technology was in its infancy. Today, it is an industry standard. Technology advancements will continue and some of today’s concepts will be commercialized tomorrow. Real time monitoring will be developed and commercialized, eliminating one of the obstacles to direct potable reuse. Finally, genetic engineers, driven by the green movement and alternative energy development, will develop bacteria that will move efficiently convert biomass to fuel.

#3 – Full integration of resource management in reuse planning will occur

Today, the product water from a wastewater treatment plant owned by a wastewater agency) receives additional treatment by a water agency to make it useable for groundwater recharge. Solids are handled by the wastewater agency. In other word, we bolt-on advanced treatment to a wastewater plant. The interim step will be to integrate the liquid processes to achieve some efficiencies. The long-term prediction is that wastewater treatment, advanced treatment and solids management will be fully integrated into a “total urban resource recovery system”; that is, wastewater in and useable water, energy, fertilizer and carbon credits out.

#4 - The nexus between water and energy and the public response to climate change will impact how we view the cost of water

Water users will be billed not by the units of water they use, but rather by the carbon footprint that is created by developing the water supply. For example, groundwater will have low carbon foot print while desalination will have a high carbon footprint.

#5 – The pace of reuse development will be relatively slow unless we have a crisis.

Rahm Emmaual, Chief of Staff for President Barack Obama, once said: “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” The water crisis that no one can predict but is real is the collapse of the Bay Delta due to a major seismic event, which could result in loss of up to one million acre-feet of imported supply. Our immediate response will be conservation, including converting all landscapes to drought tolerant or desert landscapes. Intermediate response is indirect potable reuse, such as groundwater recharge and surface water augmentation. The long-term reponse will be the development of direct potable reuse projects.