CHALLENGES FACED FOR CUSTOMERS CONVERTING TO RECLAIMED WATER

摘要

Austin, Texas is a growing city with a growing reclaimed water system. Austin has a population of approximately 800,000 people, is located in Central Texas and serves as the state capital. As a growing city with an environmentally conscience population, the city is very interested in promoting the use of reclaimed water. Austin uses the Colorado River for its raw water intake and the reclaimed water system is used to reduce that intake. Reclaimed water service began in 1974 as a way to dispose of treated wastewater without releasing it into a local creek, Williamson Creek, that was at or near its assimilative capacity. With that said, a lot has changed since 1974 and reclaimed water is no longer seen as a waste product to be disposed of, but as an alternative water source used as a water conservation tool. As the city grows, which it is doing at a fast pace, so does its non-potable water demand. To prepare for that demand Austin Water (AW) is growing its reclaimed system. Currently Austin Water's reclaimed water system has 42 meters installed with 43.5 miles of transmission pipeline installed with an annual usage of 1.5 billion gallons. The current reclaimed water master plan shows the system expanding to over 130 miles of transmission mains, several hundred commercial customers with an estimated 8.3 billion gallons of use each year. With that level of growth expected in the future there are several hurdles, both planning and code issues that will need to be dealt with to ensure citizens connect and use the system. As the system grows, issues that are hindering future connections to the reclaimed system are becoming more visible to both the public and City staff. It will be crucial for the issues described below to be addressed in a manner that keeps the public's health and welfare in mind but promotes the use of reclaimed water for the system to continue to be an integral part of Austin Water's water conservation effort.