Report outlines how Minn. could reuse water while keeping people healthy
At Target Field in downtown Minneapolis, rainwater is captured and used to irrigate the field and wash the bleachers.
In some cities, stormwater is used to irrigate golf courses and parks, and treated wastewater is used for industrial cooling.
Interest in recycling water is growing in Minnesota, but it's not as common as state officials and environmental groups would like to see.
Minnesota hasn't had clear guidelines on water reuse and has lagged behind other states such as California and Florida, largely because water scarcity hasn't been a major concern here.
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A report released Wednesday aims to change that by encouraging water reuse while still keeping people from getting sick.
"We want to make sure we were addressing both public health and environmental concerns and making sure these systems are going to last into the future and be an ongoing and sustainable part of our water picture," said Anita Anderson, an engineer with the Minnesota Department of Health's drinking water protection section.
Anderson said reusing water offers many benefits. Most importantly, it helps preserve clean groundwater sources that in some parts of the state have been depleted.
"For drinking, obviously we want the highest quality water," Anderson said. "And we want to save our protected groundwater sources for that use."
Reusing water also will help the state be more resilient as its population grows and demand for water increases, she said, putting more stress on underground aquifers.
"Then there's other parts of the state that just aren't blessed with those resources in the first place," Anderson said. "So the biggest thing is conserving the resources we do have, filling in the gaps where we don't have as many resources and using reuse to supplement those resources."
The report recommends a range of regulations from minimal guidance for projects that don't have a lot of risk — such as capturing runoff from a roof to water lawns — to more safeguards when reused water could expose humans to pathogens, such as using treated wastewater for drinking or flushing toilets.
The report also recommends more education and research on water reuse that could be shared through an online information hub.
Anderson said the recommendations need further discussion and possibly legislative action before they can be put into action.