AFFLUENT

Affluent Effluent looks at 17

EFFLUENT
communities across America. In
each case, the decision makers in
these communities developed and
implemented practical and
creative wastewater treatment
options that best fit their needs.
Many of these communities are A Film about
treating wastewater as an asset. It
is paying off. Starting with just New Choices in
practical modifications to
conventional systems, new
Wastewater
approaches are saving money, Treatment
energy and water resources.

WA T E R F I L M S
(c) 1980
Lyle Brecht - Producer

investment decisions that a community makes. The success of this investment decision can affect
Introducing a 40-minute film about new choices for wastewater
treatment
Communities across the United States are facing
urgent and conflicting demands by government
regulatory bodies, the public, developers, and
industry concerning growing needs for wastewater
treatment.Unfortunately, decision makers and
their consulting engineers are often not aware of
or familiar with the available options for treatment
of wastewater and the total costs for each option,
including capital costs for new infrastructure and
operating and maintenance (O&M) costs that
sometimes can equal or exceed original capital
costs in 20-30 years. Also, water reuse is becoming
a growing issue as new water supplies become ever
more scarce and expensive to access for a growing
community or communities that find their existing
water supply may be inadequate due to climate
changes and increased demands for water use.
Today, wastewater effluent is increasingly
becoming a potentially valuable asset, that with
proper treatment, a new source of supply.
AFFLUENT EFFLUENT
Sometimes selecting a wastewater management system is one of the most important and costly
the community’s ability to grow, its credit rating, the taxes its citizens must pay, utility rates, and
the effectiveness of treatment.
C O M M U N I T Y D E C I S I O N M A K E R S
One of the most difficult and time consuming activities
surrounding a multi-million dollar decision for new wastewater
treatment facilities or an upgrade to existing facilities is often to
get citizens of the community on the same page. Using a multi-
media approach where vocabulary and ideas can be presented in
a visual and unbiased form is often important to reduce conflict, Conventional wastewater Use of cattails ponds for treating
and potentially more considered discussion of the issues. treatment plant wastewater effluent.
C O N S U LT I N G E N G I N E E R S
You are an expert regarding wastewater treatment technology
options available for a community. Sometimes the time
consuming aspect of your job is to communicate with individuals
in the community who believe they know better than you
concerning a solution or, alternatively, you are dealing with a
public that knows little about what you are talking about. A visual Overland flow schematic. Spray irrigation wastewater
means to present options is often helpful in these situations. treatment
G O V E R N M E N T R E G U L A T O R S
Sometimes neither a community’s decision makers nor their
consulting engineers are asking hard questions concerning the
potential costs of the wastewater project under discussion: “Is
this project affordable by the community?” What is often helpful
in these cases to introduce a sense of financial realism into the
planning process is to see how another community has Effluent can be treated and Mound system on a residential lot
successfully navigated paying for both capital and O&M costs. harvested for reuse