Investigating the Energy-Water Usage Efficiency of the Reuse of Treated Municipal Wastewater for Artificial Groundwater Recharge

Environ Sci Technol. 2016 Feb 16;50(4):2044-53. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.5b04465. Epub 2016 Jan 26.

Abstract

This project investigates the energy-water usage efficiency of large scale civil infrastructure projects involving the artificial recharge of subsurface groundwater aquifers via the reuse of treated municipal wastewater. A modeling framework is introduced which explores the various ways in which spatially heterogeneous variables such as topography, landuse, and subsurface infiltration capacity combine to determine the physical layout of proposed reuse system components and their associated process energy-water demands. This framework is applied to the planning and evaluation of the energy-water usage efficiency of hypothetical reuse systems in five case study regions within the State of California. Findings from these case study analyses suggest that, in certain geographic contexts, the water requirements attributable to the process energy consumption of a reuse system can exceed the volume of water that it is able to recover by as much as an order of magnitude.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • California
  • Energy-Generating Resources
  • Groundwater*
  • Waste Disposal, Fluid*
  • Wastewater
  • Water Purification
  • Water Supply

Substances

  • Waste Water