Over the past few years, the Division of Water Quality Reclaimed Water for Beneficial Reuse Task Force has been working to promote and implement the beneficial reuse of wastewater from domestic and industrial wastewater dischargers. RWBR involves taking what was once considered waste, giving it specialized treatment, if necessary, and using it for public and/or restricted access uses. This high quality reclaimed water can be used for non-potable applications in place of potable water or as a supplement to potable water. RWBR has a myriad of application potentials including the spray irrigation of crops, parks, and golf courses; dust control; fire fighting; and toilet flushing, to list a few. The high-level of disinfection and effluent treatment required for RWBR protects public health and environmental quality.

As a result of the recent drought, approximately 75 wastewater treatment facilities sought and received approval for beneficially reusing their effluent for a variety of uses. Currently 24 NJPDES permits (DSW or DGW) provide authorization for reusing their treated effluents in a variety of beneficial reuse applications. One such facility, the Evesham Township Municipal Utilities Authority received approval to distribute their RWBR to a nearby golf course for public access spray irrigation. They are also authorized to spray irrigate the facility site and are contemplating the irrigation of other properties such as parks and school properties. Since Evesham’s effluent satisfies the high-level disinfection and treatment requirements for RWBR, any new RWBR locations they identify can easily be added to their permit upon filing a request with DWQ.

Find out more about wastewater reuse by accessing the links on this page.