So, you’re a building owner and you want to make the operations and maintenance of your building as environmentally friendly and healthy as possible, while bringing down your energy and water costs.
It’s possible to use proven technologies that mimic natural treatment and filtering processes found in healthy eco-systems, and produce high quality water from the water we use (and discard) every day.
What is Reclaimed Water?
Any water that we are able to take back, process and treat, and then re-use. It comes from rainwater that falls on the site, or could be from internal building processes like showers, toilets, or cooling towers. The treated wastewater can be used for toilet flushing or irrigation, depending on the level of treatment. It could also be used for fountains and ponds, or commercial processes in factories.
What’s the Process for Reclaiming Water?
The process of reclaiming water, sometimes called water recycling or water reuse, involves a highly engineered, multi-step treatment process that speeds up nature's restoration of water quality. The process provides a high-level of disinfection and reliability to assure that only water meeting stringent requirements leaves the treatment facility.
What Reclaimed Water is Not
Reclaimed water is different then greywater and blackwater. Greywater is water that has been previously used, for things such as laundry, shower and kitchen use, swimming and bathing. If you’ve ever had your sink back up, then you know that greywater gets its name from the color (and, ick, the smell) of being less then fresh. Blackwater is water that contains sewage, usually originating from toilets. For health and safety, reclaimed water is not used for:
- Drinking
- Swimming
- Irrigating gardens (vegetables, herbs, fruits)
- Showering