Conference Program - WateReuse Association

WATER REUSE &DESALINATIONBRIGHT AS THE FLORIDA SUNhighly sensitive to the discharge of any fresh water —even clean or highly-treated wastewater. This is a significantenvironmental benefit of using recycled water.WateReuse Project of the Year – SmallCharlotte Correctional Institute (Charlotte, FL)Nominated by: Florida Water Environment Association’sWater Reuse CommitteeThe Charlotte Correctional Institute (CCI) is a prisonfacility with onsite potable water and wastewater treatmentfacilities. The wastewater treatment plant has acapacity of 0.250 mgd. Prior to implementing a reusesystem, the CCI utilized two percolation ponds for wastewatermanagement. Since the CCI began using reclaimedwater for the institutional laundry and flushing of allprison toilets, the potable water usage has been reducedfrom 200,000–250,000 gallons per day (gpd) to approximately100,000 gpd. For the year 2006, the average dailyflow of reclaimed water flow was 208,000 gpd, with135,000 gpd going to reuse in the prison and 73,000 gpddirected to the percolation ponds. The percolation pondsare now used only for back-up to the reuse system. TheCCI has the ability to supplement the reclaimed waterstorage tank with potable water in the event thatreclaimed water flow or quality is not satisfactory. Allappropriate cross connectional control devices are presentfor the supplemental supply and all piping is colorcoded to prevent cross connections.Reclaimed water quality is excellent with turbidity averagingless than 1 NTU and TSS averaging less than 1mg/L. The CCI is in compliance with all Florida Departmentof Environmental Protection (FDEP) requirementsand has been the recipient of an Operation and MaintenanceExcellence Award from the FDEP for the past threeyears.WateReuse Project of the Year –DesalinationNorth Alamo Water Supply Corp., Brownsville PublicUtilities Board, NRS Consulting Engineers (SouthTexas)Nominated by: Linda Fernandez, Fernandez Group, Inc.In arid South Texas, every drop counts. Rainfall averagesaround 20 inches per year or less along the middle andlower reaches of the Rio Grande, which is the primarysource of water for all uses in the region. But suppliesfrom the river and its reservoirs are declining while populationin the region is projected to soar. Empowered bya new water planning process and motivated by the needto find alternative sources to the Rio Grande, forwardlookinglocal entities in South Texas turned todesalination. Major water projects designed and managedby NRS Consulting Engineers are using brackish groundwaterand seawater as new sources of municipal andindustrial supplies.North Alamo Water Supply Corporation (NAWSC) is thelargest water supplier in Texas, covering 973 square milesof territory. NAWSC, assisted by NRS, has launched anambitious program to construct a network of reverseosmosis (RO) plants to serve rural populations. Theseregional RO facilities are treating brackish groundwateras an alternative to purchasing, pumping, and treatingmore costly surface water supplies from the Rio Grande.The La Sara Treatment Plant was the first to come onlinein January 2005. It is producing 1 mgd of drinking waterand its capacity can be doubled as the region grows. Alsounder construction are two more brackish desalinationplants, which together will produce 3.5 mgd. In addition,NAWSC is a primary partner in the North CameronRegional Water Authority, created to develop brackishgroundwater supplies for areas not previously served by aconventional treatment plant. The Authority has constructedan RO plant that is producing 2.6 mgd ofdrinking water from brackish groundwater. The facilitycan be expanded to 5.2 mgd.Regional successes with brackish groundwater desalinationcoupled with improved membrane technologies atlower costs set the stage for yet further innovation: seawaterdesalination to ensure uninterruptible supplies,even under extensive drought conditions. The Lower RioGrande Regional Seawater Desalination Project, nowbeing piloted for the Brownsville Public Utilities Board, isthe first of its kind in Texas. Brownsville, at the southernmostreach of the Rio Grande, was selected for the pilotfollowing several years of evaluation and feasibility analysesof potential sites on the Texas Gulf Coast conductedunder the auspices of the Texas Water Development10