AWWA REUSE52120

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has developed guidance describing how the use of reclaimed water will initially be regulated in the state. While Massachusetts is a relatively water-rich state, at least in comparison to other sections of the United States, there are several parts of the state where a combination of rapid growth and demographic changes have caused water resource areas such as aquifers, rivers, ponds, and wetlands to suffer changes associated with significantly lower water tables and diminished streamflow. The drought during the spring and summer of 1999 has exacerbated these conditions. As a result, a number of communities have been forced to implement severe water use restrictions. In some instances, the development of public drinking water supply wells or even individual private wells has been curtailed. Additionally, tough new surface water quality discharge standards, coupled with a growing shortage of technically viable groundwater discharge sites, have left communities facing difficult and increasingly expensive wastewater treatment and disposal issues. The use of reclaimed water for situations that do not require potable water will conserve new potable water sources and reduce the pressure to over-employ existing sources as well as to provide cost-effective and environmentally sound options for wastewater disposal. This paper presents exerpts from the approved Massachusetts reclaimed water policy.