The objective of this project is to implement a decentralized greywater reuse system to reduce the potable water demand, which will potentially reduce costs and increase resilience. Army, Navy, and Air Force all have policies that call for increased water resiliency and security. Currently, many installations practice non-potable reuse, typically with large scale wastewater treatment systems. Targeting potable reuse will potentially increase the amount of water that can be used for critical needs such as showers, laundry, and handwashing, ensuring no treated water is left unused. Additionally, a decentralized system can increase resiliency through a “fit for purpose” water management approach.

Marine Corps Recruitment Depot San Diego, a project demonstration partner, had a water reuse system installed that was not able to be maintained by the installation. The project aims to meet this need by targeting a system that requires very little operation and maintenance to ease the burden on installation directorate of public works when the system is transitioned.

The project will utilize a commercial, off-the-shelf system developed by Ecovie, specifically designed to integrate into the installation infrastructure. Implementing the most cost-effective design will be the main priority and will be achieved through the minimization of infrastructure changes. After installation, the system will be run using the targeted source wastewater and the treated water will be used for non-potable purposes. In tandem with this demonstration, water quality analysis will be conducted based on potable permitting requirements and risk will be evaluated by Defense Centers Public Health Aberdeen. Once the water is determined to be safe for potable reuse, the treated water will be used for showers, laundry, and/or handwashing.

The economic performance of the system will be evaluated based on a positive return on investment for the installation. Technical performance will be evaluated based on the ability of the treated water to meet the requirements set for potable reuse. The project’s anticipated success will pave the way for decentralized potable reuse at installations and potentially the creation of regulations at the state level.

Currently, the buildings at the targeted demonstration sites do not reuse water for toilet flushing, laundry, showers, or handwashing. This incurs a cost for potable water and puts the installation at risk for water shortages, as many installations are in water scarce regions. Previous greywater treatment systems that have been installed have failed due to high operation and maintenance requirements. The largest potential benefits from the project will be cost savings on potable water and point of use water generation for increased resilience and security.

Non-potable reuse has been implemented at many installations, however at the building scale there are often not enough non-potable uses to fully benefit from the amount of treated water produced. This research will pave the way for future decentralized potable reuse projects. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2028)