Successful Water Recycling Despite Challenges: The University of Connecticut's Groundbreaking Closed Loop Reuse Project

摘要

Facing a state mandate to reduce water usage by a third, the University of Connecticut built a Reclaimed Water Facility (RWF) to tap into an abundant supply of treated wastewater available at the institution's water resource recovery facility. The RWF has been operating for five years and this paper will examine the performance data from start-up to optimization and will discuss the approach to solving the problems uncovered. After the optimization period, the plant has continually met its treatment goals. The paper will also examine the key aspects of plant performance to date, including measures of efficiency, water quality, and continual reuse. It will close with a look at the potential future reuse opportunities on campus and the regulatory and policy hurdles that will need to be cleared to make them a reality.