Wastewater Reclamation as a Water Resource

Although it was written just over 50 years ago, Metzler and Russelmann's article on water reuse frames the reuse narrative using the same issues that drive the topic today; however, a measure of the water industry's speed to embrace reuse is provided by comparison of this 1968 article with the changes described in this month's DC Beat column by Steve Via. Beyond the similarity to today's arguments and issues, the 1968 piece is a fascinating snapshot of perspectives on reuse at the time, and the 1956 case study it presents of direct potable reuse in Chanute, Kans., during a drought is both frightening and motivating. One of the larger drivers for lack of implementation of more reuse projects is, frankly, a lack of true need, but maybe the number of communities facing limited resources and maximum conservation has finally reached a critical mass, and reuse will finally become reality. As the article finds, "direct reuse of wastewaters for water supply must be considered as a reasonable alternative to the development of remote resources, the extraction of fresh waters from the oceans, and harvesting atmospheric moisture."