The Economic Case For Industrial Water Reuse

Research recently completed by the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation will be featured in the Plenary Session of the 2017 Industrial and Commercial Water Reuse Conference in May of this year. The presenters were members of the research team for Framework for the Successful Implementation of On-Site Industrial Reuse (Reuse-14-04), a WE&RF project, which provides tools for industry to identify, evaluate, and implement on-site water conservation and reuse opportunities and tested a Water Kaizen Blitz (WKB) process based on LEAN Manufacturing principles.

Industrial facilities struggle with how to enable the design, construction, and operation of onsite industrial water reuse that also adheres to the strict financial payback requirements of industry. To address that, the researchers examined the automotive, food and beveridge, aerospace, flat glass, paint and coatings, and pharmaceutical and chemical industries. In the research report, the project team explained why water reuse is cost-effective and can boost the bottom line, and shared experiences from experts at companies like General Motors that have taken on these challenges first-hand.

At the 2017 Industrial and Commercial Water Reuse Conference the audience will get a sneak preview of a new, comprehensive decision-making tool designed to help business leaders evaluate the direct and indirect costs of implementing a water reuse program at their industrial facilities. The research team is currently working on a WE&RF project entitled, Scorecard for Evaluating Opportunities in Industrial Water Reuse (Reuse-15-03). The conference will focus on sustainable water policies, accounting and conservation of water energy, and the development and application of appropriate water treatment and reuse technology at industrial facilities to meet environmental compliance and supply chain reliability goals. The Industrial and Commercial Water Reuse Conference is in Atlanta, GA on May 21-23, 2017.

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.