Distributed Water Reuse in Urban and Suburban Neighborhoods

Distributed water reuse systems have been in practice for over 20 years with examples covering a wide array of project types. These projects were originally located solely in rural areas and their necessity was driven by water scarcity or lack of sewer system capacity. Since 2000, that trend has expanded and the application of distributed water reuse systems to urban and suburban areas has now emerged as a viable alternative in addition to the traditional rural settings. Whereas, the drivers for water reuse still include water scarcity and lack of adequate wastewater capacity, the movement towards sustainable water resource management is providing new demand and creating new incentives. Most importantly, the economics of water resource management are shifting such that distributed water reuse systems are now more cost effective in many circumstances then traditional centralized water and sewer services. These changes collectively are creating many new opportunities that did not exist in the past as evidenced by eight water reuse systems now underway in New York City.