Save Every Drop and Innovations for New Water

S Use drought-tolerant landscaping.

S Use reuse water for irrigation to preserve freshwater supplies.

D. Taylor, P.E.

appy Water Conservation Month! April is historically one of the driest months for Florida and a great time for us all to remember to conserve water. Remember, “No Water, No Life!” It’s a simple quip, but an accurate portrayal for the importance of water.

On average, we can only live about three days without water, and while over 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is water, only 3 percent is freshwater, as most of the water is contained in our oceans. Freshwater is a precious resource that requires the utmost care in its use and our efforts to manage it wisely.

Water Conservation

Conservation gives us the “best bang for our buck” as each gallon of water not used is a gallon of water preserved. If we can keep tabs on how much water we use, that is a great first step for our society for conserving water.

Other ways each of us can help conserve water are:

S Maintain your irrigation system to prevent leaks and don’t overwater.

S Take shorter showers.

S Use water-efficient appliances.

Our freshwater sources are finite and we have to give them the time needed to replenish. Lakes need time to gather rain and stormwater drainage. Groundwater aquifers need time to let water percolate through the layers of sand, soil, and rock. When the freshwater sources become too stressed, we look to other sources, such as brackish groundwater, rivers, and even the ocean. Our industry is constantly innovating for new technologies and techniques for providing fresh, potable water for drinking from many different sources:

S Membranes, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis have been used to treat brackish and salt water.

S Ion exchange is being used to lower salt and organics concentrations from brackish water.

S Lime softening uses chemistry to reduce calcium and magnesium hardness.

S Traditional (or advanced) sedimentation/ flocculation processes remove organics and other impurities from water.

Reuse Water

Reuse water is a tool that will help us protect our freshwater supplies by offsetting potable water use in many ways. Using reuse water for irrigation instead of freshwater is a popular option that also helps comply with Florida Senate Bill 64 (2021), as a means to reduce surface water discharges. Reuse water can be used for toilet flushing and other nonpotable uses. Industrial customers are using reuse water for coolingtower water to prevent losing freshwater to evaporation. Reuse water can also be used to help replenish our aquifers through rapid infiltration basins.

While reuse water has many indirect paths to offset potable water use, Florida is in the middle of rulemaking to allow direct potable reuse (DPR). Municipalities across the state have been, and are currently, testing technologies for treating reuse water to meet drinking water standards. Industry experts are testing reuse water for contaminants to comply with current regulations and potential future regulations, such as personal care products, hormones, pharmaceuticals, and contaminants of emerging concern.

Our industry plays a vital role in the health of our community and going above and beyond the current standards is one way we show that we care about Florida, turning reuse water into new water to drink.

Resources to Learn More

How can you learn more about water conservation and water reuse? Check out these resources in our great state of Florida:

S www.fsawwa.org

S www.watermatters.org

S www.waterlessflorida.com

S www.watereuseflorida.com

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