Water Quality Reuse Classification

This water quality reuse classification tool is designed to facilitate decision making regarding human water uses. Because not all water uses require the same level of quality, water can be used more efficiently by reusing effluent in another process with lower quality requirements, such as reusing wastewater treatment plant effluent in the cooling towers of power plants. This tool is designed to help utilities, industries, and governments determine whether a process effluent is of acceptable quality for the influent of another process.

The water quality reuse classification tool has a tabular format with water use applications listed in order with processes requiring the highest quality influent water at the top to processes requiring the lowest quality influent water at the bottom. The relative quality ranking is based on values for selected water quality parameters and the selection of these parameters is outlined in the supporting document. Using this tool, utility managers, industrial operators, and government officials can propose application effluents as potential influents for other activities and evaluate the feasibility of specific couplings.

Details on the tool and examples of its potential uses and the tool’s components: