Last summer, a unique project that demonstrated how reclaimed wastewater could be recycled into clean drinking water was introduced in Colorado Springs. Called the PureWater Colorado Mobile Demonstration, it featured a small-scale model of the advanced purification process used for direct potable reuse (DPR). DPR involves the treatment and distribution of water without an environmental buffer, such as a stream or pond.
The project was made possible thanks to a partnership with the Colorado School of Mines and additional support from Carollo Engineering and the Colorado Water Conservation Board. The mobile demonstration, which featured a carbon-based purification process inside a 28-foot trailer, was located at one of our water reclamation facilities. This allowed us and School of Mines staff and students to study the process while giving tours.
Nearly 1,000 guests toured the demonstration trailer, and most guests chose to sample the purified water at the end of the tour. Overwhelmingly, they reported that their knowledge and comfort level with DPR rose after learning more about its advanced cleaning process and how it might make sense for Colorado Springs.
The project not only provided valuable insight for possible adaptation of DPR into our water system, but it also earned the national 2022 WateReuse award for Outreach and Education. This award recognizes the people, projects and partnerships that demonstrate exceptional leadership toward building more resilient communities.
DPR may be new to our community, but recycling treated wastewater isn’t a new idea. The technology has been around for decades and continues to be improved as more and more communities explore it as a responsible way to use water.
For us, DPR could be a way to stretch our reusable water supplies in the future. This is especially important for Colorado Springs, considering half our water comes from the Colorado River Basin, which is currently experiencing the effects of sustained drought. Our supplies from that basin can be reused over and over because they don’t originate in our native Arkansas River Basin.
Because we think DPR could be a safe and environmentally friendly option for us, we wanted to bring the concept to our community. This was accomplished with the PureWater mobile demonstration. The best part is that this pay-it-forward project is being loaned to other Colorado municipalities considering DPR use.
You may not have been able to tour the trailer while it was available here, but we have a lot of information about the project, including our outreach summary report, available on the DPR web page.
