There is a local, state-wide and global need to conserve precious water supplies by using recycled water in place of fresh water. The traditional, dominant approach to water recycling has been to produce recycled water at centralized municipal wastewater treatment plants using conventional treatment processes and then to deliver the treated water to points of use. Those delivery systems, however, typically require newly constructed, expensive and disruptive pipeline networks.

A much more efficient approach to water recycling is the use of decentralized wastewater treatment systems that are close to both wastewater sources and the water use areas. Such distributed treatment is also called “satellite treatment.” Under this approach to water recycling, wastewater is extracted from existing sewers, treated to required standards that are protective of public health, and reused locally for irrigation of turf, landscaping and crops, or other approved uses. Unfortunately, to date, such satellite systems have been uneconomic when compared to the market price for water.

AquaTecture has developed an unconventional, decentralized, modular water recycling system with associated processes that are intended for distributed, point-of-need water recycling irrigation applications. The design features have been chosen to provide cost-effective operation at small scale where continuous access to such resources as trained personnel, certified water analysis laboratories, chemical suppliers, and replacement components cannot be assumed.