More Comfort And Certainty In The Ability Of Onsite Treatment Systems To Serve Non-Potable Water Needs

New research removes a primary institutional barrier to onsite water treatment. It provides a framework for the safe, consistent implementation and management of these systems, allowing agencies to incorporate them more widely into new and re-development projects. Recently released by the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF), the report, Risk-Based Framework for the Development of Public Health Guidance for Decentralized Non-Potable Water Systems (Project No. SIWM10C15) culminates a year-long research effort led by the National Water Research Institute (NWRI) and an Expert Panel – with input from a stakeholder group of public health agencies and water/wastewater utilities. The San Francisco Public Health Utilities Commission organized volunteer stakeholder participation and the Public Health Coalition, supported by Water Research Foundation and WE&RF, to identify appropriate water quality standards and monitoring regimes for onsite systems that are protective of public health.

Together, the project team developed a risk-based framework to establish scale-appropriate public health guidance for decentralized non-potable water (DNW) systems. The framework includes recommendations on water quality pathogen targets for multiple types of alternate water sources (including graywater, blackwater, roof runoff, and stormwater), monitoring regimes for water quality, management considerations for systems, strategies for permitting projects, and applications and end uses of treated alternate water sources. It can help establish scale-appropriate water quality criteria for decentralized non-potable water systems that protect public health.

An April web seminar hosted by the WateReuse Association will feature the results. An Expert Panel will provide an overview of the report, main findings, and key examples of onsite treatment trains and responsible system monitoring efforts plus the current efforts of the National Blue Ribbon Commission for Onsite Non-Potable Water Systems putting the results of this groundbreaking research into practice.

Regulators, public health officials, and water managers may find common ground on water quality criteria and monitoring standards based on the proposed log-reduction targets (LRTs) in this report, the use of surrogate pathogens for testing, and management frameworks to adequately operate these systems over time. This may change the way that agencies and states approach onsite treatment standards, moving from some operating based on experience or conventional water quality parameters to an approach based on achieving the adequate reduction of pathogens and protecting public health.

About The Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF)

The Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF) is a nonprofit (501c3) organization officially formed in July 2016 as the result of the merger of Water Environment Research Foundation and the WateReuse Research Foundation. The merged research foundation, with a combined research portfolio representing over $200M, conducts research to treat and recover beneficial materials from wastewater, stormwater, and seawater including water, nutrients, energy, and biosolids.

About The Water Research Foundation

The Water Research Foundation is the leading not-for-profit research cooperative that advances the science of water to protect public health and the environment. Governed by utilities, WRF plans, manages, and delivers scientifically sound research solutions on the most critical challenges facing the water community in the areas of drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, and reuse. Over the last 50 years, WRF has sponsored nearly 1,500 research projects valued at $500M, and serves more than 1,000 subscribing organizations. For more information, visit www.WaterRF.org.

About The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is a department of the City and County of San Francisco that provides retail drinking water and wastewater services to San Francisco, wholesale water to three Bay Area counties, and green hydroelectric and solar power to San Francisco's municipal departments. We are comprised of three essential 24/7 service utilities: Water, Wastewater and Power. These functions are supported by the Business Services, Infrastructure and External Affairs bureaus. Our mission is to provide our customers with high quality, efficient and reliable water, power, and sewer services in a manner that is inclusive of environmental and community interests, and that sustains the resources entrusted to our care.