Recycling Wastewater Poised To Get Bigger In Texas

While everything is bigger in Texas, it seems that reusing wastewater is about to get huge. Both public and private entities are pushing hard to increase water reuse for both environmental and economic reasons.

Basins and underground aquifers supply the bulk of drinking water statewide. Despite Texas being the home to the first direct potable reuse facility in the U.S., reuse has comprised just a single-digit percentage of the state’s water supply for decades. According to the Texas Water Development Board’s (TWDB) 2022 State Water Plan, the Lone Star State aims to change that, increasing the amount of direct and indirect potable reuse from 4% in 2020 to 15% by 2070.

At present, Texas is home to five indirect potable reuse facilities and one direct potable reuse, with a second in the design phase. TWDB’s 2022 State Water Plan recommended 16 additional potential reuse projects. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the state’s regulatory agency, recently published a guidance manual explaining how the state regulates direct potable reuse and what is required for a public water system to receive approval.