Seminar Report

On
Water Reclamation

Submitted by

SHUBHAM

Roll No. -

1905011049

Guided by
Mr. Nikhil Rathore

In partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of

B. Tech. Civil Engineering

GOVERNMENT HYDRO ENGINEERING COLLEGE, BANDLA

BILASPUR (H.P.)

Affiliated to

H.P. TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, HAMIRPUR (H.P.)

July 2022
 GOVT. HYDRO ENGG. COLLEGE
BANDLA, BILASPUR (H.P.)

CERTIFICATE

I hereby certify that the work which is being presented in the seminar report entitled “
WATER RECLAMATION” in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the
B. Tech. and submitted to the Department of Civil Engineering of GOVT. HYDRO ENGG.
COLLEGE BANDLA, BILASPUR (H.P.) is an authentic record of my own work carried out
during a period from April 2022 to May June 2022 under the supervision of “Mr. NIKHIL
RATHORE”.

The matter presented in this report has not been published earlier and has never been
submitted by us for the award of any other degree elsewhere.

Signature of
Student
SHUBHAM
Roll No. 1905011049
6th Sem. Civil
Engg. GHEC,
BANDLA

This is to certify that the above statement made by the candidates is correct to the best of
my knowledge.

Supervisor:
(MR. NIKHIL RATHORE)
Prof. of Civil
Engg. GHEC,
BANDLA

Place: BILASPUR

2
 Acknowledgement

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher Mr.

NIKHIL RATHORE And our H.O.D. Mr. ABHIMANYU SINGH
PATHANIA who gave me the golden opportunity to do this project on the
topic Stone Column. It helped me in doing a lot of Research and i came to
know about a lot of things related to this topic.

Finally, I would also like to thank Teachers and friends who helped me a lot in
finalizing this project within the limited time frame

3
 Contents

Abstract………………………………………………………………... 5

Chapter 1 :

 Introduction…………………………………………………... 6 – 8

Chapter 2 :

 Literature Review………………………………………………9 -12

Chapter 3 :

 Water reclamation and recycling techniques………………….13 -23

Chapter 4 :

 Benefits of water reclamation………………………………….24-25

Chapter 5 :

 Uses of water reclamation……………………………………..26-27

Chapter 6 :

 Importance of water reclamation…………………………………28

Chapter 7 :

 Advantages of water reclamation……………………………...29-30

 Disadvantages of water reclamation……………………………...31

Conclusion………………………………………………………………32

Reference………………………………………………………………..33

4
 Abstract

Water reclamation includes the processing of water obtained from

different sources to generate a new water appropriate for other
purposes like groundwater replenishment, agriculture and land
irrigation, potable water supplies, industrial facilities, and
environmental restoration.
Recycled water can be applied for diverse perspectives to share the
burden of freshwater sources. In many areas of the world, the entire
potential of using reclaimed water is not yet explored. Moreover,
different national and international bodies defined different
guidelines for reclaimed water specific to the particular use. This
chapter details the sources, treatment technologies, reusability,
regulations/guidelines of different global authorities, and the possible
issues connected with economic, environment, and the public health.

5
 CHAPTER – 1

Introduction :

1.1 WATER RECLAMATION –

Water reclamation is the treatment or processing of wastewater to make it
reusable with definable treatment reliability and meeting appropriate water
quality criteria; water reuse is the use of treated wastewater (or reclaimed
water) for a beneficial purpose.

Water reclamation (also called wastewater reuse, water reuse or water

recycling) is the process of converting municipal wastewater (sewage) or
industrial wastewater into water that can be reused for a variety of purposes.
Types of reuse include: urban reuse, agricultural reuse (irrigation),
environmental reuse, industrial reuse, planned potable reuse, de facto
wastewater reuse (unplanned potable reuse). For example, reuse may include
irrigation of gardens and agricultural fields or replenishing surface water and
groundwater (i.e., groundwater recharge). Reused water may also be directed
toward fulfilling certain needs in residences (e.g. toilet flushing), businesses,
and industry, and could even be treated to reach drinking water standards.
Treated municipal wastewater reuse for irrigation is a long-established
practice, especially in arid countries.
Reusing wastewater as part of sustainable water management allows water to
remain as an alternative water source for human activities. This can reduce
scarcity and alleviate pressures on groundwater and other natural water
bodies.
There are several technologies used to treat wastewater for reuse. A
combination of these technologies can meet strict treatment standards c and
make sure that the processed water is hygienically safe, meaning free from
pathogens. The following are some of the typical technologies: Ozonation,
ultrafiltration, aerobic treatment (membrane bioreactor), forward osmosis,
reverse osmosis, advanced oxidation.[2] Some water demanding activities do
not require high grade water. In this case, wastewater can be reused with little
6
or no treatment.
The cost of reclaimed water exceeds that of potable water in many regions
of the world, where a fresh water supply is plentiful. The costs of water
reclamation options might be compared to the costs of alternatives options
which also achieve similar effects of freshwater savings, namely greywater
reuse systems, rainwater harvesting and stormwater recovery, or seawater
desalination.

Water recycling and reuse is of increasing importance, not only in arid regions
but also in cities and contaminated environments.[3] Municipal wastewater
reuse is particularly high in the Middle East and North Africa region, in
countries such as the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Israel.[4

The rising water scarcity throughout the world has stimulated the use of
treated wastewater as an alternative option. Wastewater is a valuable resource
that can be used beneficially to meet the water supply-demand gaps. In India,
water and wastewater sector, especially wastewater reuse, has recently started
getting attention due to growing water problems specially in water scarce
cities. This chapter presents an overview of wastewater reclamation and reuse
in India with the focus on its rationale, current practices and challenges,
potential and future scope. Urban local bodies and municipalities have
implemented reclaimed water reuse projects in many water sensitive cities in
the country. However, the challenges such as lack of planning and feasibility
studies, incentives, social acceptance, regulatory guidelines and poor
institutional framework have made it difficult to sustain such projects.

There large potential for treated wastewater reuse in the country owing to
high quantities of wastewater. Studies show that if 80% of urban
wastewater could be treated by 2030, there would be an increase of 400%
in the volume of available wastewater to reclaim and directly reuse. In view
of the rising opportunities, the reuse in the industrial and agricultural
sectors has grown in the past decades but in the municipal sector, it is still
evolving. Many legal initiatives have been taken by the central and state
governments over the past few years. Research shows that to establish
widespread and successful reclaimed water reuse, an integrated water
resources planning and management approach is imperative. There are a
myriad of steps that people and businesses can take to protect the
environment. Among the more effective7methods of protecting the
environment is to recycle, which can be done with plastics, paper,
cardboard, aluminum, and steel items. It’s also possible to bolster recycling
efforts by performing water reclamation. Water reclamation has to do with
obtaining water from numerous sources before treating the water and
eventually reusing it for industrial processes, environmental restoration,
irrigation, and groundwater replenishment. Keep in mind that water
reclamation is also known as water reuse and water recycling.
Water reclamation has the potential to provide an alternative to the existing
water supplies, which can help with enhancing water resilience and
sustainability. While some forms of water reclamation are planned, it’s also
possible for it to be unplanned. For instance, unplanned water reclamation
commonly occurs when a community takes their water from large rivers that
have received treated water from wastewater treatment facilities. Some of the
top examples of planned water reclamation include reusing water from
industrial process water, landscape irrigation, and potable water supplies.

It’s important to understand that all water is effectively recycled and reused
via the hydrologic cycle, which refers to the constant circulation of water on
the earth and in the atmosphere. There are many different processes that occur
in the hydrologic cycle, which extend to evaporation, transpiration,
condensation, precipitation, and runoff. While this process occurs naturally,
it’s also possible to perform man-made water reclamation to further support
the environment.

8
 CHAPTER – 2

Literature Review
Fielding, Dolnicar, and Schultz (2019) reviewed literature, publicly accessible
reports, and case studies that developed or tested approaches to increase public
acceptance toward recycled water and found that less human contact and greater
knowledge and experience with recycled water were the top two factors
impacting the acceptance of recycled water-use. Using semi-structured
interviews with residents in Guatemala, Fiji, New
Zealand, and Spain, a cross-cultural study explored the relationship between the
general public’s knowledge of wastewater treatment technology and their
acceptance of direct potable wastewater reuse (DPWWR) (Stotts et al., 2019).
They found that to increase public acceptance toward DPWWR, more efforts
should be made to increase increase public acceptance toward DPWWR, more
efforts should be made to increase explicitly cultural factors, such as trust,
rather than just increasing public knowledge of the wastewater treatment
processes. A recent review of factors impacting public acceptance of drinking
recycled.
Water showed that support for potable reuse varies widely across countries, yet
the public is responsive to this context and information. Further, this review has
provided public authorities with a list of tentative recommendations for
implementing indirect public authorities with a list of tentative
recommendations for implementing indirect potable reuse (IPR) (Furlong et al.,
2019). This review pointed out that well-designed public relation campaigns
could help manage community concerns of IPR, as evidenced by the successful
IPR projects in Singapore and San Diego.
A study in Australia examined how attitudinal evaluations of stormwater
affected public acceptance toward stormwater reuse (Mankad, Walton, &
Gardner, 2019). The authors found that social norms and value-driven attitudes
were the most important predicators toward stormwater reuse and that people
who consider themselves to be water conservationists were less like to accept a
supplemental stormwater. supply, as they believe that water conservation is the
key for water resource management.Redman, Ormerod, and Kelley (2019)
evaluated how place-based identities influence public acceptance toward
potable water reuse and found suburban residents were more accepting of
various ranges of reclaimed water reuse, including potable reuse. The authors
pointed out that it is critical to consider social–spatial
differences when assessing public opinion and to tailor water management
systems to specific scales of implementation to promote water reuse.
9
2.1 Applications

Water reuse has been shown to reduce the influence of energy consumption in
water treatment systems and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as reported by
research based on an environmental assessment that analyzed the energy-for-
water component of the water–energy nexus (Ramírez, Kraslawski, & Cisternas,
2019). Wu, Cui, and Luo (2019) showed that when reusing return flow for
agricultural irrigation, the irrigation efficiency was higher than that of
traditional irrigation, where no return flow reuse was present.

Treated effluent that met the first-grade national standard for wastewater
discharge from a water resourcerecovery facility (WRRF) in the Caofeidian
District in the South of Tangshan City, East China,was proven to be effective in
leaching soil-salinity for planting tall fescue using micro-sprinkler irrigation in
sea reclamation land when mixed with groundwater (Li, Kang, Li, Wan, & Xu,
2019).

Anaerobic digestion (AD) with activated carbon to remove inhibitors, such as

ammonia nitrogen and metal elements in the AD effluent, has been proven to
produce effluent that can be
reused as process water for lactic acid fermentation (Zhang, Yang, & Wu, 2019)

.Municipal reclaimed water reuse at power utilities for cooling tower and boiler
applications could mutually benefit
municipal and power sectors. However, successful implementation of reclaimed
water reuse requires further investigation of several factors, such as treatment
goals and limitations, discharge criteria, and influent chemistry (Cherchi,
Kesaano, Badruzzaman, Schwab, & Jacangelo, 2019). The development of
a successful collaborative partnership between municipal and power sectors is
also critical and dependson the understandings of tangible benefits, risks, and
constraints to each sector.

Direct reuse of wastewater from tanning floats from the tanning process in the
leather industry was proven not to damage the quality of leather products at the
pilot and industrial scales. It thus could enable the reutilization of residual
chromium float and minimize the disposal of chromium-containing wastewater
(de Aquim, Hansen, & Gutterres, 2019).

Terré et al. (2019) examined the feasibility of reusing reclaimed urban

wastewater obtained from different tertiary treatments, such as ultrafiltration
(UF),ultraviolet (UV) disinfection, chlorination process, and their combinations
in dairy cattle production systems. They 10
found that the use of reclaimed water
did not pose acute risks to animal health. However, the authors expressed a need
for improvements to tertiary treatment to reduce water salinity, studies on
evaluating the long-term effects of using reclaimed water, and the exploration of
new contaminants not defined in the current legislation before implementing a
reuse strategy.

2.2 Safety

A review by Rock et al. (2019) compared the water qualitycriteria set in the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act
(FSMA) and in the regulations for agricultural irrigation water recycling for
food crops eaten fresh in several individual States and territories in the
United States. They found that the water quality metrics in the FDA FSMA
were less stringent than the regulations for water recycling for irrigation, and
therefore, the use of recycled water presented a reduced risk to consumers than
the FDA FSMA. Yet additional assessments are still needed to determine
whether the scientific basis of the FDA regulation provides adequate public
health protection (Rock et al., 2019)

.Erel et al. (2019) investigated the long-term effects of Olive tree irrigation
using reclaimed wastewater by evaluating soil properties and plant yield
between those irrigated with fresh and reclaimed water. Although no additional
fertilization was supplemented, the fruit yield when using reclaimedwastewater
was higher than when freshwater was used. However, the
authors hypothesized that long-term irrigation with reclaimed wastewater could
lead to the deterioration of physical and chemical soil properties.

A review of flow cytometry (FCM) applications in water treatment, distribution,

and reuse found that FCM could be useful in facilitating direct potable reuse
(DPR), as it provides fast and sensitive results and can be coupled with other
analytical techniques to meet various requirements of microbial water quality
assessment for safe DPR (Safford & Bischel, 2019). However, improvements
are needed to understand the full potential of FCM for microbial water quality
assessment (Safford & Bischel, 2019). The safety of potable water reuse of
permeate from a reverse osmosis (RO) membrane system could
be enhanced by online monitoring of bacterial particle counts using real-time
bacteriological commercial counters, which showed higher sensitivity compared
to other water quality surrogates, such as electrical conductivity (Fujioka,
Makabe, Mori, Snyder, & Leddy, 2019).

Potable water reuse is compromised by the presence of hazardous contaminants

present in municipal wastewater secondary effluents, especially those at trace
11
levels, such as 1,4-dioxane (Xu, Liu, Smith, Wang, & Hu, 2019). Recent
technical trends in decomposing 1,4-dioxane focused on photolytic and
photocatalytic advanced oxidation processes (AOP); however, more work is still
needed to reduce the energy consumption of the
AOP processes and to reduce the production or harmfulness of toxic
intermediates and degradation byproducts.

Various occurrences and concentrations of micropollutants in reclaimed water

and Silver Perch (flesh and liver) living in a reclaimed water reservoir were
detected (Terechovs et al., 2019). Twenty micropollutants were detected in the
reclaimed water, and 19 of them were at concentrations well below the
Australian Guideline for Recycled Water values for potable purposes. Although
less occurrences of micropollutants were detected.

The removal of three species of human viral pathogens in reclaimed water from
four WRRFs in São Paulo (MSP), Brazil, was evaluated (Prado et al., 2019). Of
the four WRRFs, the membrane bioreactor (MBR)/RO systems as part of
tertiary treatment demonstrated the highest virus removal efficiencies (2.3–2.9
log10). Among the three viral species, human adenovirus was the most
frequently detected virus inthetertiary effluent and was considered to be the best
viral indicator to evaluate human fecal pollution in the reclaimed water.

A study in Cameroon showed that using 333  mg/L Moringa oleifera seed
extracts as a coagulant in a vertical flow constructed wetland for the treatment
of raw fecal sludge was insufficient in reducing Escherichia coli (86.74%), fecal
coliforms (86.39%), and fecal streptococci (81.33%), and the effluent did not
meet the Cameroon and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for safe
wastewater reuse in agriculture and concluded that more studies are needed
(Tchangoue et al., 2019)

12
 CHAPTER - 3

WATER RECLAMATION AND RECYCLING

TECHNIQUES
Now that we have underlined the reasons why water recycling is important
and thepotential benefits have been highlighted in the previous sections.
Here are a few brief descriptions of some of water recycling methods:

3.1 Physical Chemical

These are techniques to remove unwanted sediments and particles.

Contaminants suchas oil, fatty acids, and suspended solids can be removed
by applying techniques likescreens, coagulation, flocculation and flotation.
The physical chemic al treatment isconsidered more like a pretreatment of
wastewater to unde rgo further recyclingprocesses.

 Screens

Screening is the first process in water treatment its goal is to prevent damage
of theequipment downstream that large objects can produce to them, and to
remove largematter carried along by the raw matter that can negatively affect
the efficiency of later treatment procedures. There are three types of screening
processes according to thespacing between screen bars:1)Fine Screening;
for a spacing under 10 mm.2)Medium Screening; for a spacing of 10 to 40
mm.3)Coarse screening; spacing more then 40 mm.Several types of
configuration for the screening systems are available on the market.The more
common are inclined, curved, and parabolic screening.

 Inclined Screens

The water flow approaches the screen from the upstream and after
passing through the screen departs on the downstream . The
screenis raked periodically by a mechanized comb; the screenings are
removed by a doctor blade and drop onto a skid plate that transports them
to a container. The moving combsare suspended between to moving
13
endless side chains, which are driven through ahead shaft.
Inclined Bar Screen

14
 Curved Screens

The difference in this type of screens is only in the way the screen israked by
the comb. In this equipment, the comb is moved by a mechanical arm
thatswipes the screen.

15
  Parabolic Screens or Rotary Screen
A parabolic screen is nothing more than ascreen with a parabolic curve in it.
This curve has several advantages, the dirt easilyslides down the screen, and
meanwhile the water passes through the screen. As aresult of this, the dirt
easily can be removed from the screen; this also can be done bybrushes. The
dirt can then be collected into a bin or a container.

a) Coagulation
Water compounds can be easily classified in three categories, suspended
solids,colloidal particles (less than 1 micron), and dissolved substances.
Coagulation is thedestabilization of colloidal particles by the addition of
chemical reagent called coagulant.Trivalent ions such as aluminum and iron
are used for the coagulation processes in theform of salts or polymers. Adding
a coagulant such as alum (aluminum sulfate)
to water permits the water to come together and these results in formation of
a flocculent mass,or floc, which enmeshes and agglomerates
microorganisms, suspended particles andcolloidal matter

b) Flocculation
Flocculation is the formation of agglomerates of destabilized colloidal
particles, calledfloc, through the addition of a chemical reagent, called
flocculant. Inorganic polymerssuch as activated silica and natural polymers
like starches were initially utilized sincesynthetic flocculants often results in
a minimum amount of sludge. For surface water thepolymer is usually an
anionic one or very slightly cationic; for industrial wastewater
acationic polymer is more effective. When only suspended solids are tar
geted for removal a synthetic flocculant can be utilized (Mays- 376)

16
 c) Flotation
Flotation is solid-liquid or liquid-liquid separation that is applied when the
density of theparticles is less than the density of the liquid in which they are
in. There are three typesof flotation processes: natural, aided, and induced.In
natural flotation particles float only because they are less dense than water
and noaid is provide to improve this process of flotation. In aided flotation
particles are helpedto float much faster by air bubbles that carry the particles
to the surface. Inducedflotation is when flotation is induced to particles that
are not less dense that water, butthey have the capability to link up with air
bubbles and form particle-gas interaction witha density lower than water.

17
3.2 Sand Filtration
Sand filters are designed as single-pass or multi-pass filters and use sand as
the mediafor filtration. The sand is usually two to three feet deep and contained
in a liner made of concrete, plastic, or other impermeable material. Depending
on the design, the filter may be situated above ground, partially above ground,
or below ground. The surface of the filter may be open or covered. Partially
treated wastewater is applied to the filter surface in intermittent doses and
receives treatment as it slowly trickles through themedia. In most sand filters,
the wastewater then collects in an underdrain and flows tofurther treatment
and/or dispersal. Some applications for sand filtration are: preparation of
cooling water, wastewater treatment, drinking water production, filtration in
swimmingpools, prefiltration for membrane systems, and filtration of grey or
surface water. Inillustration # 13 a traditional slow type sand filter is shown
in which water enters the filter compartment above the media and flows down
through the sand and, in time, will form athin biological layer called a
schmutzdecke. This layer will help to remove bacteria also.

18
3.3 Biological Treatment
Biological treatment utilizes microorganisms to convert most of the contaminants
fromsoluble and non settling solids into settle able solids. Some portion of the
organicmaterials will be also oxidized to carbon dioxide and water. After
treatment, the water flows to secondary settling basins.

SCHEMATIC OF A BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT PLANT

As the microorganisms grow, they consume the contaminants in the

wastewater.Microorganisms + contaminants-----------more
microorganisms

19
This process converts the dissolved and colloidal contaminants removed by a
further step, secondary settling. In the secondary settling the sludge
containing the microorganisms (activated sludge) is separated from the water
and is further treated separately. Thesludge treatment purpose is to destroy the
pathogens contained in the sludge and toreduce its objectionable characteristic
prior to ultimate disposal.

The biological treatment as we have seen requires primary treatment before, to

removesome of the main solid contaminants, and a secondary treatment after,
to remove theactivated sludge

3.4 Membrane Systems.

Some advantages of a membrane technology are that it works without the
addition of any chemicals, with relatively low energy use and easy and well
arranged processconductions. A membrane
process is a separating process, in which a feed flow is divided into
twoflows, either gaseous or liquid. The flow containing the
components retained by themembrane is the retentate flow, while the
components passing through the membraneform the permeate flow. If the
two phases are fluid, then we speak of membranefiltration. Transport through
the membrane is performed by a pressure difference, aconcentration
difference, a chemical or electrical potential difference as a driving force.The
membrane itself forms a semi-permeable barrier through which some particles
are transported faster than others, so that a separation occurs.The pressure
driven membrane filtration processes are: microfiltration,
ultrafiltration,nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis.

20
They differ primarily in the size of the particles toseparate and the membranes
needed for it .

The smaller the pore size of the membranes, the higher the pressure needed
to achieveseparation. In the case of microfiltration and ultrafiltration we

speak of low pressureprocesses, while nanofiltration and reverse osmosis are

high pressure processes. a summary of the different processes is given.
Selectivity is expressed as aparameter called retention or separation fact or
(expressed by the unit l/m2·h).Productivity is expressed as a parameter called
Flux.
( expressed by the unit l/m2·h).Selectivity and productivity are membrane-
Dependent.

21
3.5Disinfection.

There are a variety of techniques to perform drinking water or wastewater

disinfection.The two more environmentally friendly with less by products
and more efficient are UVdisinfection and Ozone disinfection.

a) Ultraviolet Disinfection.

The technology uses ultraviolet (UV) light to kill waterborne pathogens

(bacteria,viruses, and molds) in the water supply. UV light is classified by
three wavelengthranges.

UV-C light is "germicidal"; that is, it destroys bacteria, viruses, and other
pat hogens by inactivating their DNA and thus their ability to reproduce.
Light with awavelength of 254 nm gives the highest germicidal
efficiancy in the UV range and since.

22
This is the wavelength at which a low-pressure mercury vapor lamp emits
roughly 90%of its light, the standard fluorescent lamp technology
canutilized.The effectiveness of the UV disinfection system is highly de
pedent on thecharacteristics of the wastewater, the intensity of UV radiation,
the amount of time themicroorganisms are exposed to the radiation, and the
reactor configuration. For anytreatment plant, disinfection success is directly
related to the concentration of colloidaland particulate constituents in the
wastewater. There aretwo types of configurations for a UV reactor that exist:
contact and noncontact. In both the contact and the noncontacttypes,
wastewater flow either perpendicular or parallel to the lamps.

In the contact reactor, a series of mercury lamps are enclosed in quartz

cooling effects of the wastewater. In the noncontact reactor, the UV lam ps
aresuspended outside a transparent conduit, which transports the wast ewater
to bedisinfected. A schematic of a UV disinfection plant with a contact reactor
and a parallelflow can be observed.

23
 CHAPTER - 4
BENEFITS OF WATER RECLAMATION

Water reclamation is the process of harvesting rainwater and removing the

contaminants to allow it to re-enter the water system for your home. Water
recycling is an important step to reducing your carbon footprint, but it also
has many benefits to you, your family, and your community.

While water is a renewable resource, clean potable water is not as renewable as

of late. You may be considering a well, but you may also want to think about
installing a Water Reclamation System (aka
a whole-house potable rainwater system).

For example, on a 2,000 square foot roof, you can collect 2,000 x 0.623
= 1,246 gallons/inch of rain. The average annual rainfall in Central Texas is
about 32 inches. This means a 2,000 square foot roof can reclaim nearly
40,000 gallons of water a year! If you could catch 40,000 gallons of free
water, would you? Free water isn’t the only benefit to water reclamation.

4.1 COST REDUCTION

Harvesting rainwater for your property reduces your monthly water bill and
the return on investment is evident over time. Installing a water reclamation
system can save you up to $2,000 annually depending on your collection
area! The rainwater that falls on your property is free to you, so you might
as well use it! This is just the cost it saves on your water bill.

24
4.2 RAINWATER HAS ZERO HARDNESS

There are many disadvantages to hard water: you’ll have limescale build-
up, iron stains on your appliances, soap build-up on your dishes,
soap in the shower not doing its job because of a reaction to the minerals in
the water. Hard water wears your appliances out quicker, this might be the
most expensive hard water problem of all. Those scale deposits wreak havoc on
many appliances in your home, from the dishwasher to the hot water heater.

Rainwater has zero hardness. You’ll use less soap on your clothes, dishes,
and in your showers. Calcium won’t build up on your glassware, faucets,
tiles, or in your hair. You won’t overutilize your hard-water softener, which
can save you between $100-$2,000 a year.

4.3 RAINWATER CAN BE MADE POTABLE WITHOUT

ANY CHEMICALS

Your rainwater reclamation system uses UV light, which destroys 99.99%

of harmful microorganisms! You only need to change this UV bulb once a
year, which makes it extremely cost-effective.

4.4 RAINWATER IS ENVIRONMENTALLY

FRIENDLY

Not only are you recycling water at this point, which is a vital resource, but
you’re also reducing stormwater runoff from your property.
Stormwater runoff is the number one cause of stream impairment in urban
areas as it picks up and carries with it sediment, nitrogen, phosphorus,
bacteria, oil and grease, trash, pesticides, and metals.
While there are far more than four benefits to a rainwater reclamation system,
we hold these truths to be self-evident … it’s worth it!
Rainwater harvesting is an untapped resource that could be developed quickly
within communities and that will also have a tremendous impact.

25
 CHAPTER - 5
Uses for Reclaimed Wastewater

1. Irrigating Crops and Plants

The leading usage for reclaimed water in the US is irrigation by 56.8%. In
states where droughts are common, many residences and businesses have
begun using reclaimed water for agriculture, landscape, public park, and golf
course irrigation. For example, the Minnesota Twins baseball team has
recently cut their water usage by more than 50 percent through water reuse.

2. Aquifer Recharge
Another common use for treated water is to recharge aquifers, which
accounts for 12.8% of reclaimed water usage in the US. By refilling these
aquifers, the local water table is replenished and vegetation is hydrated,
while also further filtering the treated water into freshwater.

3. Industrial Mixing Water

Coming in at 10%, "industrial uses," such as processing water in plants and
mills, and water for concrete mixing is another prominent use for reclaimed
water. This treated water provides a sustainable, long-term solution to better
meet industrial water needs.

4. Creating Potable Drinking Water

Through high level treatment, such as reverse osmosis, waste water can be
further purified into pure drinking water. Australia predicts that Perth will
soon source 20% of its drinking water from reclaimed sources.

26
5. Industrial Cooling Water
Last but not least, reclaimed water is often used as an inexpensive source of
cooling water for power plants and oil refineries. In fact, El Paso Water
Utilities estimates that this accounts for 36.6% of reclaimed water sold
annually.

The past few decades have seen a dramatic growth in the understanding and
efficiency of water reclamation. From life changing irrigation programs, to the
state of the art plants behind potable water, reclamation has proven to be the
future of water sourcing.

27
 CHAPTER - 6

IMPORTANCE OF WATER

RECLAMATION

Nature-based solutions play a key role in responding to the various

challenges that threaten our society, such as climate change.

Out of all nature-based solutions identified, perhaps the most common

examples in our cities are urban forests, parks and green areas, vertical
gardens and green roofs, community gardens, and other similar peri-urban
farming practices.

These solutions have something in common: as they make use of vegetation,

all of them require water and nutrients to function properly.

The large-scale implementation of these solutions in cities will therefore

depend on the availability and access to water, as well as on the ability to
optimize its use and consider alternative sources. It is here when the use of
reclaimed water will be key to the success of nature-based solutions.

In accordance with Royal Decree 1620/2007, reclaimed water it is defined as

treated wastewater undergoing an additional or complementary treatment
process that allows its quality to be adapted to the intended use. This
regulatory instrument establishes the legal regime for the reuse of water,
including the quality criteria according to the specific use and the sampling
frequency for the analysis of each quality parameter. The use of this
alternative resource not only reduces the need to capturing drinking water,
with the consequent economic, energy and environmental savings, but it also
allows the use of nutrients present in wastewater, such as nitrogen and
phosphorus. Hence, reclaimed water plays a fundamental role in the
implementation, operation and maintenance of nature-based solutions.

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 CHATER – 7
Advantages of Water Reclamation

1) Reducing environmental impact

Filter presses dewater and separate liquids and solids in a broad range
of industries, many of which are actively developing and implementing
strategies for water conservation and water and wastewater reuse.
Using advanced, large-scale filterpress technology, mining and
mineral processing companies can innovatively deal with mine
tailings, dry-stacking them, rather than using tailings ponds. Tailings
ponds have the potential for various environmental risks such as leaks
of contaminants into surface and ground waters used for drinking,
wildlife exposure, and consequences to aquatic communities.
2.) Reduce demands and stress on freshwater supply

Agriculture is a major user of water. Using recycled, treated wastewater

can relieve the stress on freshwater supplies used for agricultural purposes such
as for irrigating crops, commercial and residential landscaping, irrigating
public and private golf courses, and for nurseries and horticulture. Treated
and recycled wastewater provides a cost-efficient supply that decreases the
demands – and stress – on freshwater sources such as groundwater, rivers,
and reservoirs. This is particularly important in areas that have been
affected by water scarcity and drought.
3. ) Eliminating the need to transport water

Rather than a disposal liability, recycling and reusing industrial wastewater

onsite is now considered a smart business practice, one that helps
companies become more profitable and efficient. The transport of
wastewater to offsite facilities is very expensive. When industrial facilities
recycle wastewater on-site for reuse in a variety of industrial processes, they
are saving substantially on transportation, disposal and energy costs.
Recycling and reusing wastewater is an economical path to meeting your
industry’s large-scale water demands because, let’s face it, many, many
industries are extremely water-intensive.
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4.) Improving sustainability

Sustainability is a term which is heavily used but not necessarily well-

understood. In simple terms, it is focused on meeting the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their needs. It has an economic, environmental, and social component. So
what do filter presses have to do with sustainability? A lot. Dewatering
of sludge – the separation of the liquid and solid components that make up
the sludge waste – is an inherently sustainable, environmentally-friendly
technology. It allows both for water reuse and for the cost-effective disposal
of the dry cake containing a high degree of solids – which cannot be reused
– and which may be hazardous to the environment & future generations, if
not handled responsibly.

5.) Avoiding expensive non-compliance fees

Doing good for the environment by minimizing pollution is a major benefit of

using filtration technologies that help with wastewater reuse and recycle.
In addition, implementing wastewater reuse strategies makes it easier for
you to avoid costly fees associated with non-compliance with stringent
wastewater discharge regulations.

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Disadvantages of water reclamation

1) If the process is carried out on a large scale the result of water and
waste water utilise may fall.
2) For some countries the seasonal , reuse of waste water may also be
used only in certain seasons.
3) The production of gases such as sulphuric acid produces during the
treatment processes that can lead to chronic health problems.
4) Applications of untreated waste water properly irrigation water or
injected water flow can cause ground water contamination

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 CONCLUSION
The standard of drinking water was developed for natural ground water and not
appropriate for identifying contaminants in reclaimed water. As the quality
standards are not determine for the reclaimed water, hence the reclaimed
water is used safely only for non potable purpose. Due to the presence of
pathogen and other organic compound in reclaimed water can not be used
for drinking and other potable purposes. Reuse of reclaimed water for non
potable purposes saves potable water for drinking and other domestic use.

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[5] Ol Shanmugasundram , The Indian textile journal April 2007

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