ENGINEERING WATER DISTRIBUTION
Water Supply, Treatment and Circulation
Water Recycling
HOW IS WATER RECLAIMED?
- (1) After use in washing, cleaning and flushing, waste water travels to the treatment facilities.
- (2) It is first put through primary treatment, consisting of bar screens and sedimentation tanks.
- (3) Secondary treatment includes a bar screen, solids contact channel, secondary sedimentation tanks and chlorination.
- (4) Some of the secondary treatment water is blended with primary water and discharged out to sea.
- (5) Third stage (tertiary treatment) adds chlorination, coagulation, flocculation and carbon filtration to obtain recycled water.
- (6) Recycled water is pumped to landscape users. This saves potable water for use by the rest of the community.
Uses for Recycled Water
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agriculture
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landscape
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public parks
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golf course irrigation
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cooling water for power plants and oil refineries
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processing water for mills, plants
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toilet flushing
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dust control,
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construction activities
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concrete mixing
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artificial lakes
Advantages:
- Usually high standards of cleanliness and purity; often even higher than water from surface or ground sources due to level of purification methods
- Renewable and sustainable source of water
- Reclaimed water contains higher ammounts of phosphates which acts as a fertilizer to help crops to grow
Disadvantages:
- Potential health risks are severe if proper purificaiton process is not followed
- Extensive treatment and processing means that this is a relatively expensive source of water