AWWA REUSE52111

In 1996, the City of Ocala, Florida, constructed a subsurface reuse irrigation project in the clear zone at the local airport. This site is the first reuse project permitted on an airport property by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the southeast in over 20 years. The site is a key element in Ocala's reuse system, which was recently named the most innovative and effective reuse system in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPAs) Region 4. The site earned the nickname Stealth Reuse for it's almost invisible presence despite being located next to two of Ocala's most traveled roads. In addition, the project flew through permitting without a hitch and with no public opposition. The system consists of a small operations building housing a filtration system and valve controllers, and a 44-acre wetted area underlain by a network of mains and distribution pipes. The site has operated successfully at an average of 500,000 gallons per day (GPD) over a three-year period. Monitoring data reveals that groundwater quality has not been adversely effected despite high loading rates. This paper covers the following topics: the background of Ocala's reuse/disposal system; a review of the permitting strategy used to get reclaimed water on an airport site; lessons learned from Ocala's two previous subsurface test sites; a description of the system with typical sections and an operational schematic; three years of groundwater monitoring data and the story it tells; the operational and maintenance history of the facility; the applicability of this technology to other users; and, a comparison of capital and maintenance costs of underground systems and conventional irrigation. Includes tables, figure.