Disadvantages Of Reuse Water

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Reclaimed wastewater or reuse water is defined as an effluent that is derived from any part of the sewage facility that has been sufficiently and reliably treated to meet the water quality suitable for beneficial use without sludge handling or pollutants discharging. The wastewater can be classified in two main categories: domestic waste (residence, commercial, and institutional waste) and industrial waste which contains different types and strengths of contaminants from the domestic one, as these contaminants had been generated during the production process for any industrial facilities. Besides, sewage can be broken down into 99.9% water and 0.1 % solids as the solids 70% of its organic substance (protein, carbohydrate, and fats) and another
For instance, the effluent that contains rich nutrient level (potassium and nitrogen) within the acceptable pollutant discharge level is a good source for crop growth without the excessive use of fertilizers (reduce farming cost). Another benefit of reuse or reclaimed wastewater is to recharge the aquifer in order to control salt water intrusion in the coastal area (reduce the use of fresh water). On the other hand, some concerns were brought up with the use of a reclaim wastewater with high suspended solids concentration which may cause plugging irrigation system, or contain high biodegradable organic concentration that may provide food for microorganism and effect disinfection process as this makes it unsuitable for industrial uses. It can also contain high total dissolved solids (excessive salinity) which may damage the crops or increase the electrical conductivity which later on affect soil permeability, or contain high chlorine residual that may burn and damage some sensitive crops (in general most of the chlorine in reclaimed wastewater is in combined form that will not cause any crop
Hence, using the reuse wastewater in lawn, golf course, landscape….ext. will reduce the cost of sewage treatment and be reflected on the monthly water bills with the advantage of less use of fresh water for the above activities. My personal concern is the presence of the microorganism (pathogens), as they pose health concerns and with no federal regulation to control the use / treatment methods or the standards to be followed. At this point, EPA has not published regulatory specification, yet did provide the state with little regulations guidance. WHO has also published guidelines for reuse or reclaim wastewater in agriculture and aquaculture. Based on this, I do believe there is no specific MCL/ MCLG or primary/secondary standards to be implemented /forcible on reuse wastewater. However, its only depends on the state regulation in case any improper treatment happened, epically with pathogen presence, health and environmental risk run high. I think, releasing the treated wastewater which is supposed to be used directly as drinking water to the rivers/ streams or carefully recharges our aquifer after a complex series of purification (RO/UV) and eventually be diluted in nature water cycle. Even though it’s a cost failure, yet the communities or the public will accept the

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