N1.08 King 2019 ReNUWIt Annual Meeting Poster

The popularity of potable water reuse is increasing due to droughts and concerns about the impacts of climate change on water supplies. For example, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, an IAB member, has proposed a potable water reuse project that would be one of the largest facilities in the world. Like most other potable reuse treatment trains, they use reverse osmosis (RO) treatment to remove pathogens, trace organics, nutrients, and residual salts. These rejected contaminants are concentrated by a factor of six. The plant plans to dispose this RO concentrate into the South San Francisco Bay where salts are not a problem. However, due to concerns over aquatic toxicity, the viability of the project depends on a cost-effective option for brine treatment.

The ReNUWIt-developed technology of open water wetlands has been demonstrated as a viable treatment for secondary wastewater effluent and effluent-dominated surface waters, and may provide similar treatment functions for concentrate from potable reuse. However, emerging contaminants of concern such as pesticides and metal chelates have proven recalcitrant to such treatment. This project aims to evaluate brine treatment via the open water wetland in conjunction with advanced oxidation processes such as ozone.