Celina is about to pay engineers to find out whether the city's treated wastewater could become a new source of water, from irrigating parks to, eventually, supplementing what comes out of the tap.
A $219,732 work authorization with Garver LLC for a water reuse feasibility study sits on the City Council's consent agenda for Tuesday, Nov. 10. A budget amendment on the same agenda would pull that amount from the Water Capital Recovery Fund's balance for the project, and staff say the work is paid for with water capital fees.
Four options on the table
The study would look at the city's two water reclamation plants, the Downtown plant and the Legacy Hills plant, and weigh four levels of reuse:
- Type I reclaimed water, a higher grade the state allows where people may come into contact with it, such as park irrigation.
- Type II reclaimed water, a lower grade for uses with less public exposure, such as dust control.
- Indirect potable reuse, in which highly treated wastewater goes into a lake, river, reservoir or aquifer before being drawn out again and treated for drinking.
- Direct potable reuse, in which advanced treatment purifies the water and sends it straight into the drinking water treatment process without that environmental buffer.
Engineering Director William Janney's memo says the results would give the council technical, regulatory, operational and cost information before it commits to any reuse projects.