Does Recycled Water Affect the Environment?

Yes.  However, the environmental effects of using Recycled Water are generally positive.  In addition to providing a dependable, locally-controlled water source, recycling water provides significant environmental benefits.  Recycled Water is highly-treated wastewater that does not pose a threat to plant or wildlife.  In fact, a certain portion of historical wastewater effluent is maintained to support existing ecosystems.  This highly treated,  Recycled Water provides ecosystems with a higher quality of water than traditional wastewater discharges. After ecosystem discharge requirements are met, additional water supplies are then used for Recycled Water irrigation and industrial use efforts.  The City of Beaumont’s new Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) will provide Reverse Osmosis (RO) filtering to demineralize the water to ensure the groundwater basins do not become overly impacted by the use of Recycled Water.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency states “In addition to providing a dependable, locally-controlled water supply, water recycling provides tremendous environmental benefits. By providing an additional source of water, water recycling can help us find ways to decrease the diversion of water from sensitive ecosystems. Other benefits include decreasing wastewater discharges and reducing and preventing pollution. Recycled water can also be used to create or enhance wetlands and riparian habitats.” https://www3.epa.gov/region9/water/recycling/pdf/brochure.pdf

In an industrial use context, Recycling Water prevents pollution.  Machines and equipment that use water often produce wastewater that carry pollutants.  By Recycling wastewater, many of these pollutants can be removed before the water is reintroduced to the environment.