AWWA JAW49872

The National Research Council released a report in 1998 that evaluated the feasibility of augmenting drinking water supplies with highly treated reclaimed water. The report concluded that indirect potable reuse of reclaimed water (i.e., using reclaimed water to augment a potable water source before treatment) is viable and that direct potable reuse (i.e., introducing reclaimed water directly into a water distribution system) is not viable. Although recent health-related research has uncovered no adverse effects, such health data are sparse, and the methods for such research are limited. Consequently, the results cannot be extrapolated to potable reuse in general. Thus, each indirect potable reuse project should be implemented only after a thorough, project-specific assessment of health concerns and measures to mitigate them. Finally, potable reuse should only be considered in communities in which other efforts--water conservation, development of new water sources, and nonpotable reuse--cannot cost-effectively meet the communities' needs. This article describes the council's recommendations for ensuring the safety of water systems that augment raw water sources with reclaimed water. Includes 17 references, table, figure.