A cooperatively funded project between the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the WateReuse Foundation will help water managers determine the best way to store and distribute reclaimed water.
The goal of the study is to understand the process of how reclaimed water changes or degrades during seasonal storage and distribution.
The study focuses on determining how potential pathogens and nuisance organisms may grow, re-grow or proliferate in reclaimed water. Nuisance organisms include iron bacteria, sulfur reducing bacteria and cyanobacteria.
The study is expected to cost $300,000, with funding being divided among the District, the WateReuse Foundation and other sources. The District’s share is $100,000.
The WateReuse Association, and its research arm the WateReuse Foundation, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to advance the beneficial and efficient use of water resources through education, sound science and technology using reclamation, recycling, reuse and desalination for the benefit of members, the public and the environment.
The District is very active in the WateReuse Association and Foundation and since FY2003 has cooperatively funded more than $1 million for eight WateReuse research projects.