Every household in the U.S. uses an average of 300 gallons per day. The majority of water usage involves flushing toilets, washing hands, and taking showers. You also have businesses using water. Almost half of the freshwater withdrawals in the U.S. are for thermoelectric power and irrigation systems. Public use accounts for about 12%.

In 2013, only eight states in the U.S. reported water shortages as being unlikely. Montana reported a statewide water shortage was likely in the next decade. Two dozen states said there were likely to be regional shortages. Fifteen states reported feeling that local shortages were likely.

As the population grows and water consumption continues, the risk of water shortages is very likely. In fact, 2021 saw the federal government declaring a water shortage on the Colorado River. Immediate changes to water policies were discussed and reductions were placed for Arizona and Nevada.

Every measure that municipalities and districts can take to conserve water is important. That’s where a closed-loop wastewater system comes in. Instead of drawing water from lakes, rivers, and other water sources, water enters a circular system where it is treated to meet water quality requirements and reused. Learn more about closed-loop wastewater systems and see if you could make it work well for your needs.

How a Closed-Loop Wastewater System Works

When you have a closed-loop system, you reuse the water that’s necessary for flushing toilets, washing hands and equipment, and manufacturing or producing components, foods, etc. Water is collected and sent to the wastewater equipment to be screened, cleaned, aerated, cleaned more, and filtered. It may be treated with chemicals to remove bacteria.

Once it meets the required specifications, it’s sent back to tanks where it can be reused. A closed-loop wastewater system can’t completely eliminate your need for water from your district. There’s always water loss to evaporation. But, this type of system can drastically reduce the amount of water needed from municipal water supplies.

What Industries Benefit From Closed-Loop Wastewater Treatment?

How can businesses use a closed-loop wastewater treatment system? Here are different areas where these systems can be incredibly helpful.

1. Breweries

Breweries use a lot of water. There’s the water needed to make the beer, rinse the grains, and clean the equipment.

Several breweries have installed closed-loop water treatment plants to reduce the amount of wastewater that’s sent to sewers. Denmark’s Carlsberg is one of them.

Wastewater from the brewing process is treated in an on-site wastewater treatment plant. The biogas produced from wastewater treatment is used to heat the brewery. The cleaned wastewater is reused for cleaning. Instead of putting water down the drain, the brewery reuses almost every drop.

2. Car Washes

Have you ever taken your car to an automatic car wash? Do you own a car wash? Studies have been completed on the amount of water used during a car wash.

With self-serve car washes, around 12 gallons are used per vehicle. A conveyor system uses about 44 gallons, while an in-bay car wash uses the most at 72.5 gallons on average. A closed-loop system is a great way for car washes to recapture the dirty water, clean it, and use it to wash more cars.

3. Chip Fab

Millions of gallons of water are used every day in a large chip fabrication plant. Some of the nation’s largest chip fabs have started setting up closed-loop systems to reuse water. Others, such as Intel, have established systems that reduce the amount of water they use by over 40% and keep making improvements.

4. Dairy Plants

In 2018, Hiland Dairy was recognized for its closed-loop initiative. The plant added an on-site wastewater treatment facility to process the whey wastewater. The lagoons the plant added can treat upwards of 250,000 gallons per day. The whey that’s separated from the wastewater is used as fertilizer for its feed crops.

5. Distilleries

To make spirits, water is needed. It’s estimated that almost 10 gallons of water are used to make one liter of whatever spirit is being distilled. Gallons of cold water running over condensers ends up being incredibly wasteful.

To stop this waste, Laws Whiskey House in Colorado established a closed-loop system where water is recycled and cooled for reuse. This saves about three gallons of water per liter bottle of whiskey.

6. Hotels/Resorts

A hotel or resort goes through a lot of water. Guest baths and showers, toilet usage, and kitchens use thousands of gallons of water each day. Plus, you have the laundry room where sheets and towels are laundered every day.

A closed-loop wastewater system can make a big difference in a hotel or resort’s water consumption. Water is filtered to remove lint and toilet paper. It then goes through aeration and cleaning. Solids are removed and composted or removed to waste facilities. Once the water is treated and meets required standards, the water is reused.

7. Laundromats

A closed-loop wastewater treatment system can reduce a laundromat’s water consumption by as much as 80%. Once a load of laundry is completed, the wastewater is screened and sent into a tank where it is filtered to remove lint and grit from dirt. After going through additional cleaning steps and filters, it can go into water tanks to be reused to wash another load of laundry for someone else.

8. Restaurants

In 2021, a company announced they’d created The Endless Sink, a stand-alone closed-loop wastewater system that cleans the water used to wash dishes again and again without needing to draw much additional water.

A closed-loop system is great for large kitchens that serve hundreds of diners. Oils and food particles are removed. The remaining soapy water is filtered and purified to remove all bacteria. From there, it can be used again at sinks or in dishwashers.

9. Rest Stops

Interstate rest stops see thousands of visitors each day. Those visitors are there for bathroom breaks and to stretch their legs. Imagine how much water is used every time a toilet flushes and hands are washed.

Vermont is home to an amazing closed-loop wastewater system that serves thousands of people every day. Instead of overworking the septic system in this rural area, a closed-loop system cleans the water for reuse. Set right off the interstate, The Living Machine is set within a large glass solarium. A series of tanks contain plants, aquatic insects, snails, and worms.

When visitors stop to use the toilets, they flush the water and it goes into the septic system where solids settle and the rest of the wastewater travels to treatment tanks where aeration occurs. After aeration, the vegetation, animals, and insects do their part to complete the cleaning process.

At this point, the cleaned water returns to the toilets and sinks in the bathrooms where it’s reused and the cycle continues. Signs tell visitors about the process and provide notice that the water is not meant to be consumed.

It’s Time to Consider a Closed-Loop Wastewater System

Your company goes through thousands of gallons of water every day. It’s time to consider how you can lower your impact on the environment. What steps can you take to reduce the amount of water you’re using to wash equipment, process foods, or other processes that require a lot of water?

Work with the engineers at Lakeside Equipment on the closed-loop wastewater system your business needs. Whether you need a large system or a smaller one, we can help you. Since 1928, we’ve specialized in water treatment for industrial and municipal settings. Call us to learn more.

Municipalities across the U.S. have one of two types of sewer systems. A separate sanitary sewer may be what most people assume is in their city. It’s a sewer where water from showers, sinks, and toilets goes into the sewers and travels to wastewater treatment plants. In the first half of the 1900s, combined sewers were also allowed. With these systems, wastewater from homes and businesses goes into sewers, but so does storm runoff from rains and melting snow.

When was the last time your facility was upgraded? Planning needs to be a key consideration to ensure your wastewater treatment plant is managing flow rates of wastewater and, possibly, stormwater runoff. If it’s been a while since your district has discussed facility upgrades, you’re long overdue. It’s time to ask these questions.

What Type of Sewer System Do We Have?

What type of sewer system does your municipality have? Are you a separate sanitary sewer system? Generally, you won’t face too much strain with higher flow rates, but water can enter the system unexpectedly during heavy rains. If there are any leaking seals, cracks in the sewer system, or failing connections, stormwater runoff may leak into your system unexpectedly.

If there is a blockage, it can cause wastewater to back up and overflow in areas of your plant. Failing equipment and vandalism are other risks separate sanitary sewer wastewater treatment plants face. This can cause sewer overflows or create issues in your wastewater treatment plant’s collection system.

You may have an older wastewater treatment plant that is a combined sewer. Extremely heavy rainfall can wreak havoc on your system. If there are flooding rains, your plant could end up with overflow that has to be released as untreated sewage into a nearby lake or river. This can be disastrous.

In 1994, the EPA took steps to reduce the number of combined sewer systems in the U.S. Ideally, the hopes were that municipalities would separate their sewer systems and storm runoff drains. By 2000, the U.S. Congress required remaining cities and towns with combined sewer systems to meet the EPA’s guidelines requiring at least nine controls in place to reduce the impact of sewage overflows, such as retention basins or expanding the wastewater treatment facility’s capacity.

You might think that in 20+ years since the EPA’s guidelines changed that all remaining combined sewer systems had been corrected. It’s not the case. One Vermont city facing such changes drafted its proposal in 2019. It involves new valve vaults, new flow controls, a larger storage tank, a new screening structure, and a new grinder pumping station. Plus, miles of sewer lines need to be added or improved. The upgrades are targeted to be completed by 2032.

Have We Been Fined or Warned Recently? If So, Why?

Has your wastewater treatment plant received fines or warnings lately? When a wastewater treatment plant receives its permits, it’s given limits to meet before the wastewater is released. A plant has to properly treat wastewater to achieve the goals set forth in permits.

The city of Wapato, Washington, was warned and agreed to pay the EPA $25,750 in penalties for discharging treated wastewater that exceeded the limits listed in the facility’s permits. Zinc was one of the pollutants triggering the warning and fine.

If your equipment isn’t doing all it should, it’s time to evaluate the equipment and processes you have in place. Make upgrades as needed to ensure you’re able to treat wastewater correctly before it’s discharged. Adding new pumps, larger storage tanks, and better aeration systems all help improve efficiency. Computerized equipment that measures increasing and decreasing flows is another cost-effective change to consider.

What Are Our Peak Flow Rates and What’s Our Capacity?

You have a permit from the government that states the measures you must meet. It includes things like how much chlorine can remain in treated wastewater that you send back to the public water system or a local river or lake.

Another consideration is how much wastewater comes into your treatment plant each day and how much your equipment is capable of handling. Your equipment needs to be able to handle peak flows. Leaving a little extra room for the unexpected is helpful.

If you’re finding your plant is often at capacity, it’s time to consider making upgrades. As more people or businesses come to town, water usage increases. That means more wastewater entering the sewers. Your plant needs to be able to handle the growth.

What happens if new developments are leading to more wastewater than expected. Say a new condo complex comes in and planners estimate an average of 70 gallons per day from each resident. But, some people in those condos are using far more. An expert will need to rule out leaking toilet seals or similar issues. If it’s simply that people are using more water than estimated, it can become a headache. You can’t kick people out of their homes, so you have to look at growing the capacity of your plant.

Have Weather Patterns Shifted Unexpectedly?

What about the weather in your area? Global warming is causing some unexpected shifts in weather patterns that are impacting cities’ wastewater treatment systems. Detroit saw flooding after heavy rainfall hit in mid-March. The excessive rainfall caused a river to flood and back up the sewer system. Pumping systems became overwhelmed, so untreated sewage had to be released elsewhere.

Back in 2020, Concord, California’s wastewater treatment plant was used to flow rates of around 50 million gallons a day. Flooding rains led to an increase to 200 million gallons. The facility couldn’t keep up with it. While the plant is a separate sanitary wastewater system, stormwater entered through leaking mains and pipes. The city had to divert incoming wastewater and move some into storage tanks to be treated at a later date.

Have We Addressed Ways to Boost Efficiency?

Finally, look at your plant’s efficiency. If there are cost-effective ways to boost efficiency, make the improvements. You might consider using available grants or government loans to add solar panels to reduce your facility’s electricity rates. Wind power is another option.

You might want to upgrade old equipment for newer pumps and motors that don’t use as much power. For example, a Magna Rotor Aerator offers high efficiency for a lower operating cost. Even maintenance costs are reduced thanks to a hinged access panel. Aeration will cost less, saving money on electricity consumption, so the money you spend pays for itself through the savings you gain.

Alternative fuel is another idea to embrace. Instead of using oil, propane, or electric heaters to keep your workers warm enough in colder months, upgrade to a heating system that captures something you have plenty of within your plant. Add systems that capture methane and convert it into gas that can heat your facility.

Are you interested in learning more about upgrades that improve efficiency, lower your overall costs, and ensure you can meet your plant’s increased flow rates? Talk to the experts at Lakeside Equipment. Our engineers have decades of experience and help ensure you have a quality solution to ensure you have a wastewater treatment plant that meets, if not exceeds, your municipality’s needs.