Reuse: Urban, Residential, Commercial and Municipal
Content Table
- Irrigation of sporting fields, golf courses, public open space and landscaping
- Residential garden watering and toilet flushing
- Commercial buildings
- Cooling water for air-conditioning systems
- Clothes washing
- Washing of vehicles and equipment
- Municipal construction and cleaning
- Fire Protection
- Related Articles
- References
- Links
Irrigation of sporting fields, golf courses, public open space and landscaping
Examples of recycled water use for urban and municipal landscaping include:
· Abu Dhabi, UAE: Abu Dhabi’s freshwater supply is produced by desalination of seawater. All of Abu Dhabi’s wastewater is treated to open-access recycled water standards. The recycled water is delivered back to the city for irrigation of public parks, roadway landscaping and fodder farms. This has allowed Abu Dhabi to develop a garden city despite high temperatures and minimum rainfall.
· Sydney Olympic Park, Australia: A water recycling scheme at Sydney Olympic Park supplies up to 7000m3/d of recycled water for irrigation of sporting fields and open space areas and for toilet flushing in the sporting venues. Recycled water is also supplied for garden watering and toilet flushing at 2000 residential houses at Newington.
· Los Angeles, California: Recycled water is used in an ornamental Japanese garden and water features at the Tillman water reclamation plant.
· Taronga Zoo, Sydney, Australia: Recycled water from the zoo’s wastewater treatment plant receives membrane filtration and disinfection. The recycled water is used for landscape irrigation, ornamental water features, moats around animal enclosures and for washing down the animal enclosures.
Residential garden watering and toilet flushing
Examples of dual reticulation schemes supplying recycled water for residential use include:
· St Petersburg, Florida: The City has constructed an extensive urban water recycling scheme which has been in operation since 1977. Recycled water uses include residential garden watering, as well as landscaping, industrial and fire protection. The scheme supplies more than 100,000m3/d to consumers. A further 70,000m3/d is injected into the ground to prevent saline intrusion into the city’s drinking water aquifer.
· Sydney, Australia: Recycled water is supplied for residential garden watering and toilet flushing at Rouse Hill in north-western Sydney. The scheme which began operating in 2001now supplies about 30,000 homes. Long-term development plans for western Sydney may see up to 160,000 homes supplied with recycled water .
Commercial buildings
Examples of recycled water use in commercial buildings include:
· Irvine, California: The Irvine Ranch Water District has mandated the use of recycled water for toilet flushing in all new high-rise buildings.
· Fukuoka, Japan: .
· Marin County, California: Recycled water is used for toilet flushing in a 330-bed prison facility.
Cooling water for air-conditioning systems
Examples of recycled water use for air-conditioning include:
· St Petersburg, Florida: Recycled water is used for air-conditioning in commercial buildings and a sports stadium.
· Irvine Ranch Water District in California: The Opus Centre in Irvine uses recycled water for cooling and for toilet flushing.
Clothes washing
Examples of recycled water use for clothes washing include:
· Marin County, California: The Nazareth House commercial laundry uses recycled water for laundry. Washing is undertaken at 70oC for effective cleaning
· Newington, Australia: Use for residential clothes washing has been permitted.
Washing of vehicles and equipment
Examples of recycled water use for vehicle washing include:
· Largo, Florida: Recycled water is used for the main wash. Fresh water is used for the final wash to prevent spotting.
· Orlando, Florida: Recycled water is used for washing municipal buses.
· Newcastle, Australia: An urban redevelopment on the site of a former tram depot uses rainwater, stormwater and recycled water to supply all residential garden and toilet flushing needs and delivers surplus water to meet bus washing needs at the adjoining Hamilton bus depot.
· Seoul, Korea: The Seoul Metropolitan Government uses recycled water to wash the exteriors of the suburban train fleet.
· Tokyo, Japan: Recycled water is also used for washing the metropolitan train fleet in Tokyo.
Municipal construction and cleaning
Examples of recycled water use for municipal construction and cleaning include:
· Worldwide: Recycled water is commonly used in wastewater treatment plants for backwashing filters, washing down structures, screens and equipment, cooling water for equipment and for landscape irrigation. Use for these purposes is often 1% to 2% of urban water use. Recycled water is also used for sewer flushing to prevent sewers becoming septic in low flow periods.
· Australia: As a drought relief measure, a number of Australian water authorities have installed water tanker filling stations using stormwater, water treatment backwash water or recycled water to supply water for road construction dust control, street cleaning, and municipal landscaping .
· In cold climate recycled water is warmer than ambient temperature in winter. Funamizu(2001) has identified opportunities to recover heat energy for various municipal services including snow melting and street clearing.
Fire Protection
Examples of recycled water use in fire protection systems include:
· Altamonte Springs, Florida: 75 fire hydrants are connected to the recycled water system.
· St Petersburg, Florida: 308 fire hydrants are connected to the recycled water system.
· Vales Point, Australia. Delta Electricity has now connected the Vales Point power station fire protection system to the recycled water supply.
Related Articles
References
Asano, T. et al (2007) Water reuse: issues, technologies and applications, McGraw-Hill New York, ISBN-13: 978-0-07-145927-3, Part 4: Water Reuse Applications
- Chapter 20: Urban Non-Irrigation Water Reuse Applications;
Links
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