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Overview of Research to Inform Safe, Effective Adoption of Fit-for-Purpose Water Reuse
Citation:
Garland, J. Overview of Research to Inform Safe, Effective Adoption of Fit-for-Purpose Water Reuse. Understanding and Mitigating the Effects of Treated Wastewater Reuse in Agriculture: From Risks to Policy and New Opportunities, Kibbutz Hagoshrim, ISRAEL, November 01 - 05, 2022.
Impact/Purpose:
The reuse symposium will bring together scientists, technology developers, stakeholders, and policy makers from academia, industry, and government, to identify risks associated with treated wastewater irrigation, share knowledge related to advantages and risks of wastewater reuse, and develop policy and explore novel technologies to minimize these risks. The workshop will highlight cutting-edge technologies, and will provide platforms for training students and for introducing young researchers to the wastewater reuse community. Symposium objectives includes obtaining a current and holistic understanding of the impacts of wastewater reuse on environmental and public health while maximizing agricultural productivity, identifying challenges and knowledge gaps that impede wastewater reuse, and bringing together experts to initiate international wastewater reuse research and policy networks. The organizers have invited Dr. Garland to present to the meeting on the recent water reuse research conducted by the Office of Research and Development.
Description:
Increasing water shortages and aging infrastructure have broadened interest in using alternative source waters for a range of end uses. Developing fit-for-purpose treatment approaches requires consideration of both the proximal risks of reuse-related exposures and the more distal risks associated with the life cycle costs and impacts of shifting infrastructure. In collaboration with the National Blue Ribbon Commission for Onsite Non-Potable Water Systems, we used quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) to develop treatment targets for the major types of microbial risks (bacterial, viral, protozoan) for use in state and local reuse policies. As reuse options expand to include potable “type” end uses, the risk based framework must expand to incorporate appropriate hazard assessment approaches for chemicals (e.g., grouping of contaminants as in QMRA potentially through effects-based bioassays of toxicity). Life cycle assessment of different scenarios for onsite, non-potable reuse indicate the potential co-benefits of alternative reuse strategies and emphasize the need to develop comparable metrics of distal and proximal risks to inform effective implementation.