Water Reuse and Resource Recovery: Trends and Opportunities

The volume of water required to meet municipal demand has increased significantly over the last decade for cities with high population growth, including Houston. Many of these cities are becoming more reliant on nontraditional water sources — such as recycled, brackish, desalinated, and waste and process water — to meet that demand. To be fit for its intended use, water from these sources often requires specialized treatments that draw additional power from the electricity grid. In addition, the logistics of collecting and delivering these multiple smaller water streams is more complex. This workshop will raise awareness of water treatment techniques that can potentially increase the use of nontraditional water sources, while reducing their cost and environmental impact. Speakers will offer perspectives from their respective areas of expertise, providing participants with multidisciplinary views on the issues associated with this water-energy nexus. They will examine the challenges and opportunities presented by the decentralized collection, treatment and distribution of water from nontraditional sources that takes place in cities like Houston. The discussion will also increase public awareness of the need for municipal water treatment engineers, and the challenges they face in installing more resilient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly water treatment processes.