After reading the previous article, you may be wondering how wastewater reclaim can benefit you directly. This is a good thing to question. First of all, the EPA states that wastewater reclaim can satisfy most water demands. The only thing is making sure that the water has been appropriately treated and tested. After all, unplanned water reclaim has been a factor in the progression of the country for many years. Unplanned water reclaim is when cities and towns receive water from a river source which has also received waste water farther upstream. Many times this water is received and treated before finding its way into homes and forms a large loop in water use.
Each type of potential use has a different list of regulations which the water much adhere to. The closer to humans the water becomes, the stricter the treatment must be. If the treatment did not occur, the risk of illness would be extremely high and could be potentially life threatening. This is true of any water source which has not been properly tested and treated, no matter how clear it looks to the naked eye.
The EPA has created a regulations list and many US states have their own list of guidelines which are required for wastewater reclaim and reuse. If you are interested, you can find a Water Reuse guideline list on the EPA website which states the regulations for treatment and the uses of wastewater for each state.
As previously stated, wastewater is normally used for things like irrigation and other nonpotable purposes. Nonpotable simply means not for drinking, and although the regulations in place can allow for the use of wastewater for drinking purposes, many people would still remain uncomfortable with the concept. Other ways reclaimed wastewater has been used are in concrete mixing, artificial lakes, machinery cooling, oil refinery cooling, and other construction activities. This is where you come in.
Wastewater, once treated, can be used in automated truck wash systems and asphalt release systems. It can be used to get rid of the heavy solids which can and do plague tractor trailers and construction equipment. It has already been used in oil refinery situations so it can clearly be used on fracking equipment as well. Wastewater reclaim is a great option to look into if you are interested in helping the environment while washing your truck fleet!