Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering,

Department of Civil Engineering

3.5 Day Short Course on

Water and Wastewater Treatment
8-11 February 2010

WASTEWATER REUSE: ASSIGNMENT

You have been appointed by the municipality in which you are currently
residing to perform an investigation into the viability of domestic wastewater
reuse as a means of augmenting existing water resources.

The overall objective of your particular study is to provide a Status Quo of

wastewater reuse on an international and regional scale (South Africa or
Southern Africa) and to provide a second order assessment of the technical
and financial feasibility of the proposed water reuse initiative. Your report will
form the basis of the detailed design for the wastewater reuse treatment
regime.

To achieve the overall objective of your investigation you are required to

provide the following:

• To provide a background to wastewater reuse by means of 1

international case study and 1 regional case study. These case studies
should clearly show:

o What the drivers to wastewater reuse are

o The approaches used in wastewater reuse
o The technologies considered and
o The challenges that were faced and how these were overcome

• Qualitatively analyze the situation in your municipality and assess the

potential for wastewater reuse within the context of the various reuse
categories and discuss the potential constraints (challenges) for each
category, e.g. agricultural irrigation or industrial reuse. Specific facets which
could be considered include the following:

o Inventory of potential users and uses of purified wastewater

 o Determine health-related requirements regarding water quality
and application requirements
o Determine regulatory requirements to prevent nuisance and
water quality problems.
o Develop assumptions regarding probable water quality that
would be available in the future with various levels of treatment
and compare those to regulatory and user requirements.
o Development of estimates of future freshwater supply costs and
potential users of purified water

• The municipality has indicated that the “purified” water is intended for
potable reuse. Based on the municipality’s indication and the typical
constituent concentrations of wastewater effluent discharges in South Africa
propose at least 3 treatment regimes which could be used, providing a
motivation for the use of each regime. Your motivation should be based on a
literature review of Best Available Techniques/Technologies (BATs) for
wastewater reuse. The presence of trace contaminants such as synthetic
organics, pesticides, volatile organics, algal toxins, disinfection by-products,
hormones, radionuclides and endocrine disrupting compounds should be
taken into consideration in the selection of your treatment regime. Specific
considerations could include:

o Study area characteristics – geography, climate, surface water

resources, population growth, etc.
o Water supply characteristics and facilities
o Wastewater characteristics and facilities
o Treatment requirements for discharge and reuse
o Potential water reuse customers

• A multi-criteria decision matrix should be used to qualitatively

prioritize the selected regimes. Your criteria could include
practicability/feasibility, affordability and efficiency/effectiveness
environmental and social aspects and the comparative process used
during the weighting and scoring of options should be described and
motivated. Once a preferred treatment regime has been selected,
determine 2nd order efficiencies and capital costs. Operation and
maintenance cost should also be estimated for the treatment regime.
Other considerations could include, engineering feasibility, financial
analysis, energy analysis and water quality impacts.

• To ensure that the recommended treatment regime comply with the

legislative framework and statutory requirements for potable water.
• Identify potential environmental impacts (positive and negative) and
suggest environmental management planning options for indirect wastewater
reuse.

You are required to submit a comprehensive report with all necessary

supportive information by Friday 20 August 2010. In addition to the
abovementioned requirements, the report should include the following:

• Reporting on the BATs available for wastewater reuse and appropriate

to the municipality. It is essential that cognizance is taken of trends at other
works in South Africa/Southern Africa and the rest of the world.

• The potential effects on reservoir water quality should be addressed,

e.g. euthrophication if indirect use is envisaged.

• Report on the recommended treatment regime for wastewater reuse.

Factors such as private sector involvement, ownership and control,
public concerns and involvement, interim measures, limitations, cost
implications and availability of equipment should be considered.

• Prepare preliminary time frames for a phased approach of

implementation for the project.

Additional clarification notes:

There are five generally accepted classifications of capital cost estimates

(Turton et al., 2003), namely:

o Order-of-magnitude estimate (1st order) – this type of estimate

typically relies on cost information for a complete process taken
from previously built plants. This cost information is then adjusted
using appropriate scaling factors for capacity and inflation to
calculate an estimated capital cost.

o Study estimate (2nd order) – this type of estimate utilizes the list
of major equipment items found in the process. This would
typically include all pumps, compressors and turbines, columns
and vessels, fired heaters, and heat exchangers. Each item of
equipment is then roughly sized and the approximate cost
determined. The total cost of equipment is factored to give the
estimated capital cost.
o Preliminary estimates (3rd order) – this type of estimate requires
more accurate sizing of equipment than that used in the study
estimate. In addition, an approximate layout of equipment is
made along with estimates of piping, instrumentation, and
electrical requirements. The cost of utilities such as steam and
compressed air is also estimated.
o Definitive estimates (4th order) – this type of estimate requires
preliminary specifications for all the equipment, utilities,
instrumentation, electrical, and off-sites.

o Detailed estimates (5th order) – this type of estimate requires

complete engineering of the process and all related off-sites and
utilities. Vendor quotes for all expensive items will have to be
obtained. At the end of a detailed estimate, the plant is ready for
the construction stage.