University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Environmental Engineering Theses and Graduate Student Research Environmental Engineering Program April 2011 Design and Modeling of Infrastructure for Residential and Community Water Reuse Shannon M. Killion University of Nebraska-Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/envengdiss Part of the Environmental Engineering Commons Killion, Shannon M., "Design and Modeling of Infrastructure for Residential and Community Water Reuse" (2011). Environmental Engineering Theses and Graduate Student Research. 2. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/envengdiss/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Environmental Engineering Program at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Environmental Engineering Theses and Graduate Student Research by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Design and Modeling of Infrastructure for Residential and Community Water Reuse By Shannon M. Killion A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science Major: Environmental Engineering Under the Supervision of Professor John S. Stansbury Lincoln, Nebraska May, 2011 DESIGN AND MODELING OF INFRASTRUCTURE FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN WATER SYSTEMS Shannon M. Killion, M.S. University of Nebraska, 2011 Adviser: John S. Stansbury Water scarcity and deteriorating water infrastructure are of growing concern in the United States. The conventional methods of treating and transporting potable water and wastewater are being challenged as new technology creates opportunities for water reuse. Instead of simply replacing the current infrastructure for centralized treatment systems, alternatives such as dual distribution and decentralized treatment systems are being investigated as more sustainable alternatives. Implementing dual distribution systems leads to benefits such as reducing the amount of water treated to potable standards and reducing freshwater withdrawals. A dual distribution system allows the non-potable demands to be shifted from the potable water supply to a lower quality water source such as greywater, rainwater, or reclaimed wastewater. Removing demands such as fire flow, irrigation, laundry, and toilet flushing from the potable demand reduces the demand and allows potable water to be treated to higher water quality standards in a more efficient and cost effective way. A dual distribution system allows water to be treated to the levels necessary for the end use instead of treating all water to drinking water standards. Before water reuse can be widely implemented, the infrastructure requirements for dual distribution need to be understood. Once the infrastructure requirements are known, they can be evaluated using economic and life-cycle analyses to determine the overall feasibility of the systems. The infrastructure requirements are determined through the use of EPANET 2, a hydraulic model developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Scenarios utilizing systems such as using untreated greywater for subsurface irrigation require the least amount of infrastructure. As the complexity of the system increases so does the required infrastructure. In this study, the infrastructure requirements are determined for the following scenarios: greywater and rainwater for non-potable use in single-family residences, rainwater for non-potable use in an apartment building, and reclaimed wastewater use in a community. iv Acknowledgments This thesis would not have been possible without the support of my family, friends, and professors. To my family and friends, if not for your support and encouragement during my college career, I would not have overcome the many challenges I faced along the way. I’m thankful you were all there for me, not only to support me during the difficult moments, but also to share in the better ones. To Dr. Stansbury, Dr. Bartelt-Hunt, and Dr. Zhang, thank you all for your guidance and support as I completed my research. I am especially grateful for your flexibility in allowing me to finish much of my research while studying in Sweden. It was truly an inspiring and life-changing experience. To my undergraduate professors Dr. Jones and Dr. Schulte, thank you for urging me to pursue a graduate degree. Despite my original reservations, I’m now very thankful I took your advice. To my colleagues Derek Gardels and J. Brett Sallach, I’m indebted to you both for your help in completing this thesis. Derek, thank you for your patience and flexibility while we worked together and communicated across two continents. Brett, thank you for all the time you spent being my sounding board while in Sweden. By the end of my time abroad, I think you knew as much about my research as I did. Finally, I would like to thank the Nebraska Pump Company and Lincoln Water Systems. The insight into the pump and water industry provided by these two organizations proved invaluable as I completed my research. v Table of Contents Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 EPA Green Buildings Project ............................................................................... 1 1.2 Goals of Decentralized Drinking and Wastewater Technologies and Systems ... 1 1.3 Objective .............................................................................................................. 2 1.4 Organization of Thesis ......................................................................................... 2 2 Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 3 2.1 Scarcity of Water .................................................................................................. 3 2.2 Current State of Water Infrastructure in the United States .................................. 4 2.3 Conventional Water Distribution Systems ........................................................... 5 2.3.1 Potable Water Quality ................................................................................... 7 2.3.2 Water Demand .............................................................................................. 9 2.3.3 Wastewater Treatment ................................................................................ 10 2.4 Dual Distribution Systems ................................................................................. 12 2.5 Greywater Systems ............................................................................................. 13 2.5.1 Greywater Sources ...................................................................................... 14 2.5.2 Greywater Quality ....................................................................................... 14 2.5.3 Greywater Treatment .................................................................................. 15 2.5.4 Greywater Quantities .................................................................................. 16 2.5.5 Greywater Uses ........................................................................................... 17 2.5.6 Health Concerns Associated with Greywater Use ...................................... 17 2.6 Rainwater Systems ............................................................................................. 18 2.6.1 Collection of Rainwater .............................................................................. 19 2.6.2 Rainwater Quality ....................................................................................... 19 2.6.3 Rainwater Quantities ................................................................................... 21 2.6.4 Rainwater Use ............................................................................................. 22 2.6.5 Health Concerns Associated with Rainwater Use ...................................... 22 2.7 Reclaimed Water ................................................................................................ 22 vi 2.7.1 Reclaimed Water Quality ............................................................................ 23 2.7.2 Reclaimed Water Quantities ....................................................................... 25 2.7.3 Reclaimed Water Uses ................................................................................ 26 2.7.4 Concerns Associated with Reclaimed Water Use ....................................... 26 2.8 Decentralized Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants .................................... 27 2.8.1 Advantages of Decentralized Treatment ..................................................... 28 2.8.2 Disadvantages of Decentralized Water Treatment ..................................... 29 2.8.3 Decentralized Treatment Technologies ...................................................... 30 3 Methods ....................................................................................................................