Reuse of wastewater as a source for drinking water production?

Sources for drinking water production, such as groundwater and surface water, are under threat. The Watergroep looks for alternative resources to complement traditional drinking water production. Therefore, De Watergroep has set up a collaboration with the company Bosaq for a pilot project in the region of Sint-Truiden.

The project wants to produce drinking water from WWTP effluent. The goal is to demonstrate the feasibility of injecting the produced drinking water directly into the drinking water network. Technology-wise, it is perfectly feasible to turn effluent into drinking water. However, the challenge is to provide both reliability and safety at all times. In this project, special attention will therefore be paid to assess the risks of using this new source in order to be able to respond appropriately. On the one hand, different techniques will be combined that not only complement each other but also replicate each other to create a multi-barrier approach. On the other hand, business procedures will have to be adjusted, both in terms of monitoring and in terms of response time to provide the reliability and robustness that is needed. Therefore, the project team has visited some successful projects at home and abroad to get inspired (see images).

De Watergroep focuses on water safety and the quality aspect. Bosaq focuses on the technology and the production. During a pilot phase, both the purification technology and the quality control will be tested with a continuous production of 5 m3/h. At this stage, no reclaimed drinking water is injected into the grid yet. After an evaluation phase, an expert panel will decide if the concept is fit to scale up to 100 m3/h and provide direct injection into the grid system. If so, the scale- up will be realised.

The project runs from 2023 to 2026. This initiative is part of a programme of the Flemish Environment Agency. The Blue Deal is a programme launched by the Flemish Government to overcome risks for water scarcity and drought. ItThe programme contains more than 70 actions and 400 projects. With the Blue Deal, Flanders is embarking on the path of less pavement, more wetting and maximum circular water use

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