Increasing Distributed Wastewater Recycling to Mitigate Groundwater Depletion
Increasing Distributed Wastewater Recycling to Mitigate Groundwater Depletion
Presented on Thursday, December 17, 2015
Groundwater depletion is a growing concern nationally. The United States Geological Survey estimates that public water suppliers in the United States withdrew groundwater at a rate of over 15 billion gallons per day in 2010. While conservation practices that reduce water demand can allow for a reduced withdrawal, other strategies to improve the rate of groundwater replenishment can be a cost-effective approach to mitigating groundwater depletion. Approximately 25% of households in the United States recycle wastewater and recharge groundwater via a distributed onsite wastewater treatment (septic) system. The remainder of households are served by central sewer systems that primarily dispose treated wastewater into a water body resulting in little groundwater recharge. The United States Environmental Protection Agency recently released documents indicating that onsite wastewater treatment systems can safely and economically recharge groundwater in rural, suburban, and urban settings. Converting United States single family homes served by central sewer to service by distributed onsite wastewater treatment systems would increase groundwater recharge to offset more than half of the daily public water supply withdrawal. This paper describes the potential to significantly increase groundwater recharge via policy change that would incentivize the conversion of household wastewater treatment systems from a centralized approach to a distributed onsite wastewater treatment and recycling approach. Cost comparisons and embodied energy associated with the capital costs of central and distributed wastewater systems are also described.
Carl Thompson, P.E.
Infiltrator Systems, Inc., Old Saybrook, CT
Carl has over 25 years of experience in the wastewater industry. He is responsible for sales, marketing, customer service, and the science and government affairs functions at Infiltrator Systems, Inc, the nation’s largest manufacturer of products for onsite wastewater treatment systems. He has served on several national committees and boards including the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (NOWRA) board of directors. Carl is a registered professional civil engineer and holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech, a M.S. in Civil Engineering from Drexel University and a MBA from the University of Delaware.
