Wastewater management and Water Reuse Technologies


Wastewater treatment is critical to proper sanitation in the US and significant investment is needed to update and transition existing systems to provide equitable and quality service. Water reuse technologies provide a critical component to improved water and sanitation access particularly in places where water supply is limited or wastewater disposal is restricted. The Columbia Water Center has several projects focused on the technological, organizational, financial and policy transition required for US wastewater and water reuse systems.
 

Transforming Wastewater Infrastructure in the US


The Columbia World Projects work, "Transforming Wastewater Infrastructure in the US" is a collaboration between the Columbia Water Center, colleagues at UC Irvine, UNC, University of Alabama and University of South Alabama. The team is evaluating the current state of wastewater service in the US, and using communities in the Alabama Black Belt region as an exemplar, measuring the effect on equity, public health and environmental quality associated with a transition to new innovative wastewater approaches.

Advanced treatment and monitoring technologies have made onsite and distributed wastewater treatment and water reuse systems an increasingly feasible option in many locations. Interns associated with the Water Center have conducted a review of viable wastewater and water reuse technologies that can be deployed at the household, community or regional scale.

 

Water reuse technologies survey

Successful Implementation of Decentralized Reuse and Treatment Systems

The Columbia Water Center is also collaborating with Hazen & Sawyer on Water Research Foundation Project #5040: Successful Implementation of Decentralized Reuse and Treatment Systems. Project deliverables include a detailed literature review on institutional drivers and barriers, aggregation of existing information for implemented water reuse systems, development of a classification scheme for water reuse systems that share common implementation characteristics, and generation of new case studies that better document the full implementation process, including system operation. All of this information will ultimately be organized into a web-based, searchable database and dashboard for public use.