Recycled Water: A Growing Resource

More and more communities throughout the United States and the world are turning to the use of recycled water for non-potable (non-drinking) purposes. It is a water resource that is growing in popularity as it gains recognition as a sustainable way to preserve precious, and scarce, drinking water.

Here are just a handful of examples of the many ways communities are tapping into this valuable commodity and making it work for them:

Santa Clara County, California

In Santa Clara County a network of more than 100 miles of pipelines delivers recycled water for landscaping, playing fields, golf courses, landscape medians, cemeteries, industrial processing, dual-plumbing, agriculture and other non-drinking water purposes.

Some notable Santa Clara businesses utilizing recycled water include the San Francisco 49ers’ practice fields, Sun Microsystems, California Paperboard, Paramount’s Great America, and many more.

East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), California

Since 1971 EBMUD has been using recycled water for various industrial and irrigation applications, including landscape irrigation at the District’s Main Wastewater Treatment Plant in Oakland. The treatment facility’s landscaping includes turf and a variety of trees, plants, and flowers, which are flourishing. EBMUD’s goal is to double district-wide usage from the current 8 million gallons of recycled water used per day to 16 million gallons per day by 2020. That will save enough water to supply the indoor and outdoor water needs of about 84,000 people for a year.

Irvine, California

Irvine has been using recycled water for irrigation of greenbelts and common areas, parks, schools, and agriculture for the past 27 years. Recycled water is also used for front and backyard irrigation in eligible estate size residential lots, for toilet flushing in a few high rise and commercial buildings, and for industrial uses such as carpet dyeing.

Santa Rosa, California

In one of the largest recycled water agricultural irrigation systems in the world, Santa Rosa uses more than 50 percent of its tertiary-treated water to irrigate approximately 6,400 acres of farmlands, vineyards, and public and private urban landscaping. Additionally, in a novel approach to reuse, the city developed the Geysers Recharge Project, wherein an average of 11 million gallons per day of tertiary-treated recycled water is pumped along 41 miles of pipeline to the Geysers steam field, where it is used to generate enough electricity for 85,000 households in the Bay Area.

El Dorado Hills, California

The El Dorado Irrigation District is supplying 3,400 homes in the Serrano planned community with recycled water for front and backyard irrigation. Serrano is recognized as one of the largest and most prestigious master-planned communities in California. It is an upscale development that includes several individual gated neighborhoods, with approximately 1,000 acres of open space. Serrano’s private, 18-hole championship golf course and public spaces also benefit from the use of recycled water, allowing for sustainable, lushly landscaped common areas.

The Presidio, San Francisco, California

Currently, a single free-flowing stream meets most of the Presidio’s water needs on an annual basis. In order to protect the creek’s health, less than half of its average flow can be used for irrigation, drinking, household and employee use. Therefore, a new water treatment facility will provide recycled water for landscape irrigation.

Rohnert Park, California

The city of Rohnert Park has been using recycled water to offset drinking water supplies since 1988. Approximately 510 acres of land are irrigated with recycled water, offsetting more than three million gallons per day of city drinking water. An extensive system distributes recycled water to golf courses, city parks, school grounds, commercial properties and Sonoma State University. The University uses recycled water for landscape irrigation and fire suppression. A new residential development called Brookfield Homes is in the planning stage and intends to use dual plumping for irrigating front and back yards as well as irrigating local parks within the development.

Windsor, California

The Town of Windsor’s Vintage Greens is among the first residential developments in Northern California to be equipped with dual piping for its planned 476 households, which enables homeowners to use recycled water for outside landscape irrigation and potable drinking water indoors. This gives residents a tremendous opportunity to conserve a precious resource and significantly lower their water and sewer bills. Before the development of Vintage Greens, the Town of Windsor estimated it was already saving 275 million gallons of drinking water a year by irrigating 400 acres of golf course, vineyards, parks, pasture, and fodder croplands with recycled water. Landscaping at the local high school is irrigated with recycled water and the restrooms on the campus are dual plumbed with the tertiary treated water.

Gilbert, Arizona

The Riparian Preserve at Gilbert Water Ranch is an award-winning community wetland sanctuary designed to utilize recycled water for recreation, education and research. The preserve boasts a butterfly and hummingbird garden, a permanent lake that is open for fishing, a picnic area and 4.5 miles of trails for hiking, biking and wildlife watching.