| Municipalities in the west are searching for new sources of water at a time when very little undeveloped water remains. An increasing number of communities are planning to meet growing water needs through water reuse. In Denver, for example, a potable water reuse facility of 100 mgd is being planned for construction during the 1990's.; An alternative to potable water reuse is the exchange of treated municipal wastewater for unused high quality agricultural water. This type of water reuse promises to be less expensive than potable reuse and it can be implemented today. In order to facilitate the exploration of municipal water reuse alternatives, a water reuse methodology is developed in the research. Two case study demonstrations are used to document the application of the methodology.; The water reuse planning methodology is developed using: (1)a synthesis of reuse definitions from the literature, (2)an analysis of proposed and existing water reuse projects to discover new directions in reuse development, (3)identification of financial and regulatory incentives contained in the water quality laws, and (4)the identification of mechanisms in appropriative water law that influence water reuse. The resulting methodology is designed to aid in the formulation of water reuse alternatives. An economic methodology is also developed for the evaluation and comparison of dual purpose water reuse alternatives with other water supply and wastewater treatment alternatives.; The South Platte River Basin and the cities of Fort Collins and Greeley are used to demonstrate the alternative development methodology. The demonstration shows that water reuse exchange with agriculture has the potential to meet all but the very highest municipal water projections for the next 40 years in the basin. |
