AWWA REUSE52079

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to review National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits on a watershed basis and to incorporate Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) waste load allocations into future NPDES permits. This will allow the EPA to assess NPDES permits in a comprehensive framework. All NPDES permits within a defined watershed will be evaluated in five-year watershed cycles. The City of Phoenix and its Subregional Operating Group (SROG) partners, Glendale, Mesa, Scottsdale and Tempe, operate the 91st Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) which discharges highly treated effluent to the Salt River. SROG and the 91st Avenue WWTP are in the Middle Gila River Watershed (MGRW). SROG initiated the 91st Avenue WWTP Reclaimed Water Study in response to an increase in Surface Water Quality Standards and NPDES permit monitoring requirements. The Reclaimed Water Study identified cost effective, environmentally sound water reuse alternatives as opposed to constructed improvements at the 91st Avenue WWTP. As a part of the Reclaimed Water Study, 63 water reuse alternatives were evaluated. These alternatives and the effect on a future NPDES permit were presented to the EPA. This paper discusses the results of the MGRW study, of which the 91st Avenue WWTP Reclaimed Water Study was a part. Includes 2 references.