Impacts of Source Water Quality on the Operation of Three Water Recycling Plants with Different Treatment Technologies: An East Bay Municipal Utility Case Study

East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), which provides water and wastewater treatment services in Northern California, has been producing recycled water since 1996. EBMUD operates three non-potable reuse treatment facilities: North Richmond Water Recycling Plant (NRWRP), Richmond Advanced Recycled Expansion (RARE), and East Bayshore Recycled Water Project (EBRWP). The three plants have experienced operational challenges due to variable source water quality. When source water ammonia concentrations threatened EBMUD’s ability to provide recycled water from NRWRP, EBMUD collaborated with the source water utility to improve water quality. At RARE, EBMUD relied on both source water improvements and treatment optimization to reduce membrane fouling associated with seasonal water quality variability. EBMUD has challenges with recycled water quality at EBRWP, and is investigating both source water and treatment improvements to increase customer retention. EBMUD continues to address operational impacts on water recycling facilities with a combination of source water improvement and treatment technologies.