Using treated municipal wastewater in a linerboard mill: legal, political, and technical issues

When plans to expand production at an antiquated mill were jeopardized by an inadequate source of process water, the mill explored the possibility of producing first-quality linerboard using treated municipal wastewater. This paper outlines the legal, technical, and political issues encountered in developing a plan that would allow the mill to use effuent from a municipal wastewater treatment system. The technology is available to make reuse of municipal wastewater feasible, as evidenced by the closed-loop delivery and discharge system described in this report. Nevertheless, legal and political concerns make the implementation process arduous and time consuming.