AWWA SOURCES59170

Water reuse has traditionally been encouraged as one facet of conserving a limited natural resource. However, as water demands threaten, at least regionally, to eclipse supply, past policies are proving inadequate to avoid the flashpoint when reuse of return flows and the interests in protecting downstream water users and the environment collide. The issues are property rights, regulatory authority, and the public interest. This paper discusses these issues in the context of the particular laws of one state, but the emerging principles have far wider application.