The Social Cost of Water
While the energy requirements and treatment costs associated with potable reuse are less than seawater desalination, its adoption still lags worldwide. Through the use of big data, we are attempting to quantify the social cost of adopting alternative water supplies to develop a more holistic cost comparison of water reuse and seawater desalination. This is an on-going project in collaboration with Yale University.
The Future of MWRC
Water reuse is rapidly becoming an integral feature of resilient water systems. When RO is used, a concentrated waste stream is produced that is elevated in not only total dissolved solids but also metals, nutrients, and micropollutants that have passed through conventional wastewater treatment. Management of this RO concentrate─dubbed municipal wastewater reuse concentrate (MWRC)─will be critical to address, especially as water reuse practices become more widespread.