Water treatment technology has been developed to mimic nature’s cleansing process. Prior to its use, recycled water undergoes four stages of purification to produce a high-quality water that meets or exceeds standards making it safe to reuse. The purification at a water recycling plant is an accelerated and controlled version of what occurs in nature, and can be as good as or even better than the natural process.
In the primary stage of purification, the wastewater entering a water recycling plant is collected in large tanks where settled and float-able materials are removed for further treatment and disposal. The wastewater, which still contains dissolved and upended organic material, continues to the next stage of processing.
In the secondary stage of purification, the wastewater from the primary process is further treated in aeration tanks which contain naturally occurring microbes and enzymes that consume the dissolved and organic material that remains suspended in the water. Air is bubbled through the tanks to supply the microbes with oxygen. Following treatment, settling is used to separate those microbes from the water being treated. This highly treated water is then sent to the final process at the water recycling facility.
In the tertiary stage of purification, filtration and disinfection are conducted. Any remaining suspended solids are removed using specialized granular material or membrane filters. Similar to water plants that produce drinking water, the water in this process is fully disinfected to kill any remaining organisms in this final step of the water recycling process. Following the highly regulated, controlled, and complex purification process, the recycled water is distributed using its own dedicated pipeline system for a wide variety of reuse applications, including landscape irrigation, industrial, manufacturing and groundwater recharge.
The fourth stage occurs in the soil during recharge following purification at the water recycling plant.