Water Independence: Near Zero Liquid Discharge

Water reuse is being explored to meet increasing demand for sustainable potable water. Tucson, Arizona, already treats its wastewater, but releases it into the Santa Cruz river to replenish the natural reservoir. The city draws primarily from the Central Arizona Project to fulfill potable water demand.Social, economic and environmental impact analyses were performed to provide the best process. The facility designed in this project is optimized to treat Agua Nueva’s effluent with the latest treatment processes and computer modeling, and incorporates desalination and
advanced oxidation to lower salinity and trace organic compounds below drinking water standards. The removed contaminants are concentrated, separated from the water, and discharged from the facility.