Managing the Water Cycle Shared Water and Wastewater Master Planning

Issues related to increase in water demand have generally been addressed in terms of linear logic – water is delivered to a municipality where part of it is consumed, part of it is lost, and the rest is taken away, out of our sight out of mind. Generally speaking, increase in population and population density over time results in the need to import water supplies from farther distances, and to treat and discharge the resulting effluent closer to home in our developing cities. This situation calls for a new management strategy that recognizes the need to appropriately utilize and manage the entire water cycle in a holistic (as opposed to linear) manner.Total Water Management (TWM) provides this approach and differs from traditional water, wastewater, and water resources planning in addressing multiple objectives while considering a wide range of both conventional and innovative water strategies as the solutions developed considering the entire water cycle. TWM resource plan include, but are not limited to:Water reuse (e.g., indirect potable, urban, recreational and agricultural irrigation, environmental restoration),Conjunctive use of groundwater, surface water, and reclaimed wastewater,Surface water quality management, such as TMDL issues,Long-term water demand management options and shorter-term water conservation technologies.St. Johns River Water Management District, JEA and Clay County Utility Authority (CCUA) in Florida are currently involved in critical planning and permitting efforts for integrated management of water supplies and wastewater. This paper presents the process for selecting the projects based on the optimization model to develop projects that would promote water reuse, minimize costs for wastewater infrastructure development, augment water supply and help in achieving water quality standards.