WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES, INSIGHTS, AND ANALYSIS
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![black dry granular carbon-GettyImages-1347989966]( "What Utilities Don't Know About GAC Reuse For PFAS")
What Utilities Don't Know About GAC Reuse For PFASFor utilities building PFAS treatment systems, thermal reactivation of spent granular activated carbon (GAC) may sound like the obvious answer. However, service provider availability and location, specific media acceptance criteria including quantity thresholds, restrictions on GAC type and condition, and regulatory uncertainty can all determine whether reuse is a viable option.
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![environmental monitoring sedimentation, sludge filtration-GettyImages-2286130662]( "PFAS Funding Is Flowing — But Does The Water Sector Have Enough People To Deliver It?")
PFAS Funding Is Flowing — But Does The Water Sector Have Enough People To Deliver It?For several years, the PFAS conversation has centered on treatment options, testing, and funding. Those factors still matter, but they are no longer the primary constraint. Most utilities already understand the treatment routes available to them; the real challenge now is moving from technical possibility to operational performance, and that depends entirely on people.
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![PFAS Label on hundred dollar bill-GettyImages-2193126716]( "The Cost Of Waiting: Utilities Face A Narrowing PFAS Compliance Window")
The Cost Of Waiting: Utilities Face A Narrowing PFAS Compliance Window For years, the water industry's PFAS conversation centered on monitoring, testing, and regulatory anticipation. Today, that phase is largely over. -
![pfashazard_Getty-2204558906]( "D.C. Circuit Upholds EPA's Hazardous Substance Designation For PFOA, PFOS")
D.C. Circuit Upholds EPA's Hazardous Substance Designation For PFOA, PFOSThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently rejected industry challenges to the EPA's designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA, leaving the agency's April 2024 rule fully intact. While the case centered on the EPA's authority to make the designation, its practical significance for water utilities is simpler: the liability concerns that have accompanied the rule since its adoption remain unresolved.
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![LG-sonic-lake-pic]( "How Donner Summit PUD Cut Backwash Water Use By 45% With Ultrasonic Algae Control")
How Donner Summit PUD Cut Backwash Water Use By 45% With Ultrasonic Algae ControlRecurring algal blooms severely compromise water treatment efficiency, clogging filters and wasting finished water through frequent backwashing. Targeted ultrasonic suppression controls raw water algae growth at the source, significantly improving influent turbidity and lowering operational costs.
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![pfas-testing-kit]( "SRP-Funded Technology Provides Affordable PFAS Testing For Homeowners")
SRP-Funded Technology Provides Affordable PFAS Testing For HomeownersWidespread chemical contamination leaves many small water systems without viable testing options.Discover how an innovative, plant-based extraction method delivers affordable, highly accurate screening to identify complex contaminants and protect public health.
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![Nature, environmental-GettyImages-2172937599]( "The Enzyme Bottleneck: Why Conventional Lake Management Is Failing — And What The Science Says About Genuine Bio-Dredging")
The Enzyme Bottleneck: Why Conventional Lake Management Is Failing — And What The Science Says About Genuine Bio-Dredging For decades, the dominant framework for assessing and managing lake health has been built around surface water measurements: chlorophyll-a, total phosphorus, water clarity, and the composite Trophic State Index derived from them. These metrics are familiar, standardized, and widely accepted. They are also, according to a growing body of peer-reviewed literature, measuring the wrong part of the lake. -
![ozone off gas]( "Ozone Off-Gas: What It Reveals About System Efficiency, Safety, and Design")
Ozone Off-Gas: What It Reveals About System Efficiency, Safety, and DesignLearn how ozone off-gas impacts system efficiency, safety, and performance, and why monitoring and management are critical for optimized water treatment operations.
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![A depleted reservoir in the Yorkshire countryside-GettyImages-2222868312]( "UK Reservoirs, Water Shortages, And Legionella Risks")
UK Reservoirs, Water Shortages, And Legionella Risks Is there a clear link between a less plentiful water supply and an increase in Legionella in our domestic water systems? -
![Green Algae-GettyImages-1929939980]( "The Devastating Legacy Of Algaecides: Why The Quick Fix Is Failing Our Lakes")
The Devastating Legacy Of Algaecides: Why The Quick Fix Is Failing Our Lakes As warmer months approach, water management professionals must confront the compounding consequences of biocidal algae treatments.
DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS
What is water reuse?
Water reuse is the process of treating and reclaiming water from various sources for practical purposes, including groundwater recharge, industrial applications, wetland restoration, agricultural irrigation, public access area uses, as well as drinking water applications. By reusing water, communities can reduce dependence on traditional water supplies, avoid costly imported water from 3rd party providers, and improve resilience in water systems. Thanks to progress in water treatment technology, along with economic and regulatory incentives, water recycling has become a cost-effective and sustainable solution to meet the growing demand for highly treated water and overcome supply shortages during droughts.
There are three primary types of water reuse: Indirect Potable Reuse (IPR), Direct Potable Reuse (DPR), and Non-Potable. In IPR reuse systems, advanced treated water is either injected into an environmental buffer (groundwater, river, or reservoir) before being extracted again for use, whereas DPR is directly blended into the drinking water treatment plant or distribution system. Non-potable water is not intended for human consumption and can be used for irrigation, industrial processes, laundry, or toilet flushing.
Advanced treatment technologies, such as membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet disinfection, ozonation, and advanced oxidation processes (AOP), play a crucial role in ensuring the quality and safety of reclaimed water.
Why reuse water?
As water scarcity continues to rise, water reuse is an essential strategy for creating a more sustainable future. The use of recycled water reduces the demand for freshwater sources, which are becoming increasingly scarce due to population growth, climate change, and other factors.
Here are some key benefits of water reuse:
- Safeguard quality and resilience: Reused water is purified well beyond drinking water standards, improving resilience and ensuring quality for both potable and even non-potable purposes.
- Uphold safety: Treatment processes like ozone and ultraviolet light can be used to disinfect or break down complex contaminants, ensuring water is pathogen-free and concentrations are below maximum contaminant levels (MCL).
- Ensure cost savings and efficiency: After treating a waste stream to discharge level, it may require less treatment to bring it to reuse standards, making reuse not only environmentally responsible but also cost-effective in many scenarios and locations.
- Conserve traditional water supplies: By reusing water, we can lessen our reliance on conventional water resources like rivers, lakes, and aquifers, thereby conserving them for future generations.
- Reduce carbon footprint: Water reclamation is often more efficient than treating a raw water resource, which can lessen environmental impact.
- Enable versatility and customization: Advanced treatment systems are tailored to meet specific needs for a variety of sectors, including industrial, urban, agricultural, and public access area uses.
How to reuse water
The major aim of every reuse project is to minimize human health risk associated with the use or consumption of reclaimed water. While the exact treatment requirements depend upon the source water quality and the reuse purpose, to be cost-effective, the treatment must be energy efficient and have a high-water yield.
An adequate treatment design plan depends on the application the water will be used in. In non-potable applications, normally filtration and disinfection will suffice, while potable reuse generally requires a combination of advanced treatment processes such as membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, disinfection, and/or advanced oxidation.
Xylem has brands and solutions to fit every stage of the water reuse process:
- beginning with the transport of raw sewage and wastewater with Xylem brands like Flygt
- to secondary treatment to remove most dissolved and suspended organic matter and nutrients with brands like Sanitaire and Envirex
- to tertiary stages that remove residual particulate matter, nutrients, TDS, and nematode eggs with brands like Leopold and Davco
- along with disinfection and advanced oxidation that inactivates pathogens, and breaks down trace constituents and emerging contaminants of concern with brands like Wedeco, ETS-UV, ATG UV Systems, Pacific Ozone, and Wallace & Tiernan
- and finally, digital solutions like YSI, OI Analytical, Xylem Vue that leverage remote monitoring, alerts, and data analytics for proactive and predictive maintenance
Based on practical knowledge from decades of combined brand experience, thousands of installations worldwide, and strengths in powerful R&D innovation, our team looks at the entire wastewater process at your plant. We will work with your consulting engineer and State regulators to integrate the right technologies to meet your intended targets. Modular design makes it easy to fit your requirements now and easily expand to meet your future needs.
Water reuse partnership
Though Xylem has teams of specialists, years of expertise, deep understanding of water regulations, and a broad solutions portfolio, we understand the complexities of water systems and the potential to partner with various water treatment experts. Xylem has partnered with hundreds of different firms around the globe to ensure the most efficient and viable water systems for communities and municipalities.
Our goal is to thoroughly understand each project, determine the best methods, and customize optimal solutions that meet local regulations and requirements while delivering resiliency, quality, and cost savings.
Let us be your partner in making every drop count. Contact us today to discuss your project needs.
The newterra WWT-125 is a scalable sewage treatment plant based on 3-container process trains that can each address the requirements of 500 people (125 m3; 33,000 US gal). The advanced, modular system is designed for larger camps with populations ranging from 1,000 to tens of thousands of people.
Highly effective against bacteria and viruses, the Advanced Oxidation System (AOS) is also well-suited for the decontamination of hard-to-treat organic contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and other micropollutants The AOS can be configured to deliver optimized performance for most water or wastewater treatment applications.
VIEWS ON THE LATEST REGS
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![PFAS regulatory requirement-GettyImages-2220893562]( "EPA Seeks Court‑Ordered Removal Of 4 PFAS Limits")
The U.S. EPA is testing a new procedural strategy to remove four PFAS drinking‑water limits from ongoing litigation, asking the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to invalidate those limits on the grounds that the EPA itself committed a procedural misstep when issuing the 2024 PFAS rule. -
![Perfluorooctanoic acid PFOA molecules-GettyImages-2179084012]( "Putting The National Toxicology Program's Fluoride Review In Context")
Despite renewed public concern over fluoride and cognition, the National Toxicology Program’s findings focus on high‑fluoride groundwater conditions — not the controlled levels used in U.S. drinking water systems. Understanding that distinction is critical for utilities navigating policy questions and community expectations. -
![running faucet-GettyImages-175426122]( "HAAs In The EU: Monitoring For Haloacetic Acids Under The Drinking Water Directive")
In this Q&A, Dr. Elke Süss of Metrohm addresses the urgent need for haloacetic acid testing in response to “one of the most significant updates to EU drinking water monitoring in recent years.” -
![questionmarks_Getty-1908249816]( "PFAS Unpacked: Experts Answer Questions On EPA Rules, Funding, Treatment, And More")
With the U.S. EPA's PFAS rules now in place, utilities are finding themselves with a growing number of questions regarding how to treat these chemicals, the potential costs, and much more. For answers, Water Online's chief editor, Kevin Westerling, hosted an Ask Me Anything session featuring Ken Sansone, Senior Partner at SL Environmental Law Group; Kyle Thompson, National PFAS Lead at Carollo Engineers; and Lauren Weinrich, Principal Scientist at American Water. -
![1124-Microbac_Technologies]( "Monitoring Know-How For PFAS Regulations")
A Q&A to explain and resolve issues confronting water suppliers as they endeavor to comply with the monitoring requirements of federal PFAS regulations.
MORE WATER INDUSTRY FEATURES
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![GettyImages-1143391583 data sheet]( "How Digital Twins And Hybrid Modelling Optimize Cell Culture Process For Better Production")
Discover how digital twins are enabling the optimization of cell culture processes for improved, more predictable outcomes in the creation of therapeutic proteins and antibodies.
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![GettyImages-2173433148 pfas]( "AEC PFAS Removal System Reduces PFAS Contamination In New Jersey")
This case study demonstrates the effectiveness of a new technology for removing PFAS from well water to below the EPA’s detection limits.
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![membrane-filter-GettyImages-2196233681]( "Filtration: The Overlooked Enabler Of Process Intensification")
Process intensification depends on more than facility changes. Smarter choices can help improve yield, throughput, and sustainability, turning an often-overlooked step into a meaningful contributor.
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![designing-for-growth]( "Designing For Growth: How To Build Modular Capacity Without Breaking Ground Twice")
Learn how to design wastewater infrastructure that grows with demand. Modular systems allow phased capacity additions that match actual flow, avoiding the high cost of oversizing and eliminating the need for disruptive, repeated construction.
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![GettyImages-1068380820 paperwork]( "Why Industrial Pretreatment Programs Are Drowning In Administration, And What Modern Technology Can Do About It")
Evaluating industrial discharge data manually consumes valuable staff time and increases risk. Automated sampling ingestion flags limit violations instantly, streamlining enforcement, reducing administrative strain, and keeping municipal wastewater treatment infrastructure protected.
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![GettyImages-2148124393 DNA]( "A Risk-Based Approach To Plasmid DNA And mRNA Process Development")
Balancing robust analytics and clinical readiness is key for early-phase pDNA and mRNA therapeutics amid structural complexity and regulatory challenges.
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![GettyImages-1347856166 tube, research, lab]( "Overcoming Scale-Up Challenges In iPSC Production: A Joint Investigation")
Discover how new processing methods tackle challenges in large-scale stem cell production and how automated, low-shear processing maintains cell health and pluripotency across production scales.
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![GettyImages-1081869356 data]( "Achieving Best Outcomes With TMF Document Processing")
TMF document processing requires a delicate balancing act. Sponsors strive for accuracy and completeness, but timeliness is crucial. How can teams achieve all three? Here are some practical strategies.
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![analytical-microbial-GettyImages-1371706582]( "Rapid Release Testing Starts With Faster Contaminant Detection")
Switch to rapid sequencing-based contaminant detection to accelerate advanced therapy release timelines, minimize batch rejection risks, and bypass slow, culture-based testing methods.
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![ozone data center]( "Data Centers, Water Reuse, And Ozone: Engineering Treatment Systems For The AI Infrastructure Boom")
Explore how ozone-based treatment supports data center water reuse by controlling biofilm, organics, metals, and microbial risks while reducing freshwater demand.
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![1 4-dioxane]( "1,4-Dioxane And Advanced Oxidation: Designing Treatment Systems Around Radical Chemistry")
Learn why advanced oxidation processes are critical for treating 1,4-dioxane and how ozone-based systems can improve contaminant destruction and water quality.
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![Water droplets, PFAS, Forever chemical water contamination-GettyImages-2173433890]( "How Regulatory Pressure Is Driving Innovation In Surface Water Facilities")
What does it take to stay ahead of tightening drinking water standards? See how utilities are turning regulatory pressure into smarter infrastructure investment.
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![iStock-528606286-handshake-partnership-partner-agreement]( "Conflict Of Interest: Implications For Clinical Research Sites")
Amid scrutiny of the financial conflicts of interest in biomedical research, new federal rules aim to improve transparency and preserve the integrity of publicly funded research.
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![GettyImages-1364760615]( "Turbidity, What It Is And How It's Successfully Mitigated")
This article will clarify the essential aspects of turbidity, how it can affect human health, and how best to measure and mitigate it.
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![Case Study: Ion Exchange Treatment Of Regulated Metals In Coal Ash Found To Be Efficient In Power Industry]( "Ion Exchange (IX) Systems")
Ion exchange (IX) is a tried-and-true method of removing metals and other inorganic compounds from water. Arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, selenium, radionuclides, and zinc are just a few examples of the compounds that our ion exchange systems have removed from water.
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![INFORS - flasks]( "5 Best Practices To Keep Your Incubator Shaker Contamination-Free")
Learn five essential best practices to maintain a sterile incubator shaker environment, from routine cleaning and humidity control to advanced HEPA filtration for reliable results.
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![GettyImages-1462148610 Engineers Using Laptop In Factory]( "The Engineer's Guide To Maximizing Dynamic Range In RF Testing")
Learn practical strategies for improving RF dynamic range through noise reduction, linearity optimization, filtering, calibration, and advanced signal conditioning techniques.
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![GettyImages-2194923210_450_300]( "Ozone Vs. UV-AOP: Choosing The Right Path For Advanced Water Treatment")
Ozone and UV-AOP each offer powerful contaminant removal for drinking water, wastewater, and reuse applications. Their unique strengths—and potential synergy—help utilities meet diverse treatment goals efficiently.
