Following the construction industry and related legal topics in the United States.


Wednesday, February 6, 2008

For Sale: Reclaimed Wastewater

It is not a news flash that there has been a drought in North Carolina and many other regions in the country. Construction companies use a great deal of water, so the drought conditions and water restrictions have been a challenge to many contractors working in drought areas. According to an ENR Digital Wire report on February 3, 2008, Union County outside of Charlotte, NC is offering relief at $1.82 per 1,000 gallons of water as long as you don’t drink it.

The Monroe Water Resources Department will be selling treated wastewater, also called reclaimed wastewater. It is not for drinking or consumption, but it will not make you sick from skin contact. The reclaimed wastewater is fine for construction and pavement washers. It is also fine for landscape irrigation of golf courses, ball fields, and industrial cooling and processing.

According to the article, there are a few other North Carolina cities and counties using limited reclaimed water: Anson County, Charlotte, Goldsboro, Raleigh and Cary.

Before you drive your vehicle to the bulk water station, you will have to undergo training to obtain a certificate to transport water. Training is free.

Suffering a drought reminds us all that every little bit counts. It is inherently wasteful to use valuable drinking water good enough for human consumption for construction or irrigation purposes. Kudos to Union County for their innovative plan. (This entry published by Ken Michael, a member of Womble Carlyle's construction law practice group).

Source: ENR

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great post- it's important that everyone understands that, like gasoline, fresh-water is a scarce resource naturally. There's no reason that contractors and large properties can't irrigate/use the reclaimed waste-water (it's not as if anyone else will know the difference anyway).

8:53 PM  

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