Direct Potable Reuse
Direct potable reuse (DPR) involves multiple phases of advanced water purification to transform treated wastewater into a safe, reliable drinking water supply. WateReuse Colorado has led the effort to organize Colorado’s water reuse community in advancing the science of DPR, while fostering a greater understanding among Coloradans about the potential DPR holds for our future.
Colorado Water Quality Control Commission Approves DPR Rule
On November 14, 2022, the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission provided final approval of a new DPR rule, incorporated into Regulation 11: Colorado’s Primary Drinking Water Regulation.
WateReuse Colorado would like to thank our members for the important role you played in making DPR a reality for Colorado.
We are very excited about the opportunity Colorado’s DPR rule provides as our state and communities look for new and innovative ways to ensure safe, high-quality, and sustainable drinking water supplies now and into the future.
DPR Public Education and Outreach
PureWater Colorado Makes a Splash
The PureWater Colorado demonstration project operated from January through April 2018 as an extension of the WateReuse Colorado Direct Potable Reuse project. The PureWater Colorado demonstration played a key role in in preparing Colorado for future DPR projects by providing a fun, physical context for regulatory development and public outreach.
Advancing Potable Water Reuse in Colorado
The PureWater Colorado mobile DPR demonstration is the nation’s first carbon-based DPR treatment pilot system that can travel from site to site. The 30-foot trailer houses a 5 gallon per minute process train that includes ozonation, biologically active filtration, granular activated carbon, and an ultraviolet light / advanced oxidation process (UV/AOP).
Advancing the Science of DPR
Phase 1: Advancing Direct Potable Reuse to Optimize Water Supplies and Meet Future Demands
This stakeholder-driven project resulted in three Technical Memorandums (TMs) that address how to tackle the regulatory, public outreach and perception, and technical hurdles that Colorado will face when implementing DPR.
Phase 2: Guidelines for Direct Potable Reuse in Colorado
WateReuse Colorado contracted with the National Water Research Institute to administer an Independent Expert Advisory Panel in developing guidelines for DPR in Colorado. The resulting consensus report includes recommendations for regulations, policy, and guidance to help define the path toward DPR in Colorado.