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Recommendation For Recycling Water in Florida Prepared for: Tom Petty, Chairman Of The Board Department Of Environmental Regulation Board by: Environmental Specialist, Pasco County Florida November 29, 1996 Contents Abstract 2 Executive Summary 3 Introduction... 4 Methods. 4 Results. 5 Basic background information on water reuse in Florid 5 Reclaiming Waste Water in Florida Uses for reclaimed or reused water. 7 Conclusions 7 Recommendations... 7 References Abstract Recommendation for Recycling Water in a Florida Pilot Plant The water shortage problem has affected all of us in one way or another. Either through the mandatory restrictions or the increased price of water, or even the ever increasing occurrence of sinkholes, the evidence of a water shortage is everywhere. Since we need water to survive, and there are no alternatives to support life on this planet, we must find a way to keep up with our ever increasing water demand. This report presents the water shortage problem that is occurring in Florida.
This report will familiarize you with the problem and explain the other uses currently being employed in Florida. This report also explains the procedure, as well as a recommendation including the site and costs involved, along with a short background on the proposed procedure. I recommend that the recycled project be funded and allow the pilot plant to meet the ever increasing demand for water in Florida. Executive Summary The water shortage problem effects us all in one way or another.
Either through the mandatory restrictions or the increased price of water, or even the ever increasing occurrence of sinkholes, the evidence of a water shortage is everywhere. Since we need water to survive, and there are no alternatives to support life on this planet, we must find a way to keep up with our expanding water demand. I feel that the only viable option is to recycle the water we are using. By recycling the water, we will be able to drop the price and stop the sinkholes from occurring and ease the mandatory restrictions placed upon us by the water shortage. The research that was completed and all the information I gathered showed that a price of $ 50, 000 would cover all the expenses needed to set up a pilot plant, including the labor which will be done in-house. The $ 50, 000 required will be recovered in less then a years time, and since it will also satisfy the voracious appetite for water, I feel it is a viable option.
The plant could be operational in 3 months upon approval of the funds. I feel this option is both economically and environmentally feasible and would like to get started as soon as possible. Introduction Water, our most precious resource, is becoming in short demand. With water use increasing every day here in Florida, will there be enough water for everybody? We live in a state where people are migrating into every day, due to the desirable climate and recreation options. With this influx increasing at an alarming rate, where will we get the water to supply the demand?
Clearly, at the present rate of use the water table is decreasing. As we see more and more sinkholes, due to the over pumping of the water table, we realize another alternative must be developed. This completion report will update you on the progress of the option of recycling the water in our Pasco County test plant, at the Moon Lake plant. We use water every day and in many ways. We use water to take a shower, brush our teeth, water our lawns, wash our laundry and cars or just simply to support our very existence. Clearly we cannot do without water, and there simply is not enough to go around.
One alternative is to recycle the water. We already treat our waste water with processes that result in a water 99. 5 % pure. If this water was to be sent to a water treatment plant to be processed along with the water already being processed, there would be plenty of water available. This water could be used as potable water, for drinking or cooking, or for laundry or irrigation. The reclaimed water could be rejected (deep well injection) into the aquifer to offset the amount being pumped every day. Enclosed is a flow chart through a waste water and water plant already in use.
There is little or no modification required to accomplish recycling of water. Once the water completes the treatment at the waste water facility, it would be rerouted to the head, or beginning of the water treatment plant. As of this point in time, we have completed a flow chart designed for your plant and a brief estimate of the costs involved. The facilities already in use to process the water we drink now could be used with little, or in some cases no modifications. This would alleviate our water shortage problems both now and for future generations. With the reclaimed water we would not only save existing supplies, but probably drop the cost of water below that which it is now.
According to our estimates, the changes to the Moon Lake Water Treatment Plant will cost approximately $ 50, 000; this includes labor, which will be done in house. The scenario is that the water effluent leaving the wastewater plant will be sent to the headwork's of the water plant, complete the journey through the water treatment plant and sent out with the other potable water. At the present time the water leaving the waste water plant is simply used for irrigation or dumped into drying ponds. With this new technology this wasted water can be used for drinking water, saving both our resources and money that is presently being spent pumping water out of the ground. This has already been in use in for some time in New York. We have observed excellent results with this scenario in the Westbury plant we inspected.
We expect to achieve equally successful results in the Moon Lake plant as well. This should alleviate the water shortage and also bring the cost of processing potable water down in the future. Methods To carry out this project, I performed the following tasks: 1. Completed the approximate price of recycling waste water.
The estimates include labor and materials and, since no additional land is required, the $ 50, 000 estimate should cover all expenses. 2. Picked out the sight for the project, and have included a flow chart, which is attached for you to get an overall idea of what to expect. 3. Solicited and received prices of the materials required. 4. Upon your approval of the recycling option, we will draw up blue prints and lay out the floor plans for the expansion required to recycle water. Once the funds have been made available, this will be carried out immediately, and we can go over the blue prints and see if they meet your approval. Results First I will provide a basic background on the feasibility of water recycling and the progress already made in the state of Florida.
Then I will propose the next step: instead of using the recycled water for irrigation use only, I propose the water to be used for drinking purposes as well. Basic background information on water reuse in Florida Reclaiming Waste Water in Florida As recently as the mid 1960 s, secondary treatment and surface water discharges were considered the norm for Floridas wastewater treatment plants. As the population doubled between 1950 and 1960, and once again between 1960 and 1980, Florida created more treatment plants to keep up. In 1966 there were nearly 600 treatment plants in Florida; by 1986 this had increased to 4, 250, and by 1993 this stabilized back down to about 3, 500. The vast majority are small with about 80 % having a capacity of less than 0. 1 MGD. Collectively, they represent only about 3 % of the total permitted capacity of all domestic wastewater facilities in the state.
This can be a problem since it is usually economically unfeasible for these small plants to be able to provide any sort of water reuse. Another problem is that Floridas warm, slow-moving streams and sensitive lake and estuarine require tighter treatment requirements. This has led to an increased interest in land application of treated wastewater and reuse technologies to both clean up the wastewater effluent, and to find another economically suitable use for it. The first reuse projects were created for Tallahassee and St.
Petersburg. These have significantly influenced reuse in Florida and have paved the way for todays multitude of reuse projects. Tallahassee initiated testing of spray irrigation systems in 1961. This has evolved into a 2000 acre system for farmland. St. Petersburg implemented an urban reuse system in the late 1970 s.
Here reclaimed water was used for irrigation of residential properties, golf courses, parks, schools, and other landscaped areas. The experimental work that was conducted by the State Virologist for the St. Petersburg project serves as the basis for Floridas high level reuse disinfection criteria. In the 1980 s, the creation of the CONSERV II citrus irrigation project was implemented in portions of Orlando and Orange County. Project APRICOT, which is an urban and residential irrigation project in Altamonte Springs (Orlando), and the Orlando wetlands project are among some of the more recent projects dealing with water reuse. In 1987, the five Water Management Districts (WMD) of Florida established the Water Resource Caution Areas (WRCA).
These are areas that have existing or projected (20 year) future water resource problems. These areas collectively cover all of the eastern half and southern half (including far north of Tampa) of Florida, in actuality about two thirds of the state in all. State legislation is now requiring the preparation of reuse feasibility studies for treatment facilities and the Water Policy requires the use of reclaimed water within the Was, unless the use of reclaimed water is not economically, environmentally, or technically feasible. Floridas antidegredation policy, which is contained in permitting and surface water quality rules, applies to all proposed new or expanding surface water discharges. It requires demonstration that the proposed water discharge is clearly in the public interest.
As part of the public interest test, the applicant must evaluate the feasibility of reuse. If reuse is determined to be feasible, reuse is preferred over surface water discharge, or other means of disposal. Floridas Chapter 62 - 610, FAC of the reuse program contains detailed rules for reuse of reclaimed water. It regulates slow rate land application (irrigation), rapid rate land applications systems (rapid infiltration basins), absorption fields (a form of rapid rate system involving sub-surface placement of reclaimed water), and other land application systems. Part III of the chapter deals with irrigation of public access areas (golf courses, parks, schools, and other landscaped areas), residential properties, and edible food crops. Other urban uses of reclaimed water, such as toilet flushing, aesthetic uses, fire protection, construction dust control, and others, also are regulated by Part III.
The WMD for the south region of Florida stated that in 1995, six percent of the 243 individual water use permits issued included reuse. All of the water use applicants were required to evaluate the feasibility of reuse. Nearly 75 % of the 163 wastewater treatment plants that have a capacity greater than 100, 000 gpd practiced reuse for all or part of their disposition of reclaimed water. They collectively treated 772 MGD of domestic wastewater and 112 MGD (15 %) was reused. The number could have been higher, but 35 % of the total wastewater treated contained excessive amounts of salts and was rendered unsuitable for reuse. Most of this is due to infiltration (permeability) of the sewers by saltwater canals and does not appear to be addressed for repair any time in the near future.
The South West Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) is involved in two funding assistance programs. The Cooperative Funding Program will fund up to 50 % of the cost of design and construction including pumping, storage, and transmission facilities and reuse master plans. A total of 90 of these projects have been budgeted through Fiscal Year 96. The New Water Sources Initiative Program provides funding for alternative water supply projects. Nine of the sixteen current projects utilize reclaimed wastewater or storm water.
In the SWFWMD region over half of the 180 largest wastewater plants supplied 104 MGD of reclaimed water. This was 33 % of the total volume of wastewater generated in the district. In some areas of SWFWMD the demand for reclaimed water now exceeds the available supply. With The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the five WMDs, and the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) all playing roles in the reuse program, some sort of coordination is needed. This is done by the Reuse Coordinating Committee. This committee is chaired by DEPs Reuse Coordinator and consists of representatives from the DEP, the WMDs, and the PSC.
The committee meets on a regular basis to coordinate the many reuse activities. In 1993, the committee published Reuse Conventions, which included an overview of the reuse program, made recommendations for increasing program effectiveness, and established standard terminology and procedures to be used by the members in their efforts to encourage and promote reuse. Wastewater reuse is becoming very popular in Florida. It has been projected that the capacity for reuse by the wastewater plants will collectively increase to about 1390 MGD.
This is an increase from the 1995 reported number of about 850 MGD. The infrastructure that is needed to transport the reclaimed water is what appears to be missing. This is something that will cost a lot of money, but will be a necessity in the future, especially for South Florida (Florida Water Resource Journal 32 - 35). Uses for reclaimed or reused water As you can see, reused water has many irrigation and aesthetic uses.
I would like to take these uses one step further, as a potable drinking source. I feel that by taking the water from the effluent or from the output of the wastewater plant and recycling this water to the headwork's of the water treatment plant already in use, we can reuse the water we have been discarding as non-drinkable water. The water treatment plants already in use are capable of providing drinking water from the waste effluent with no or little modifications. The wastewater is already being used elsewhere and now I feel it is time to start to look to this vast supply of usable water as a new drinkable water source. Conclusions Obviously, we dont have enough water available to meet the ever increasing demands. The most economically and environmentally sound choice therefore is to reuse the water readily available to us.
We have the technology accessible to use to make this a viable option and I feel we should pursue this option. This would almost completely alleviate any water shortage we have, since all the water we use would be recycled back into drinking water, thus relieving the demand to pump more and more water from an already over used aquifer. Recommendation I recommend that the funds be made available for the pilot plant to be put into effect, and allow us to take the next step in water reuse in Florida. The new plant will drastically reduce the amount of water now being pumped from the ground, thus reduce the sinkholes and alleviate the water shortage problem.
I feel the small investment is more than worthwhile and will be recouped in a years time. I would like to start this project and bring this new technology to light and begin a new generation of water treatment. References Young, Harley and David York (1996, November). Reclaimed Water Reuse in Florida and the South Gulf Coast. Florida Water Resource Journal, pp. 32 - 35.
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