UC Irvine

The effects of climate change, population growth, and future hydrologic uncertainties necessitate increased water conservation, new water resources, and a shift towards sustainable urban water supply portfolios. Diversifying water portfolios with non-traditional water sources can play a key role. Rooftop harvested rainwater, stormwater, recycled wastewater and greywater, desalinated seawater and brackish water, and atmospheric and condensate harvesting are all currently utilized and rapidly emerging non-traditional water sources. Given the unique challenges and various pros and cons of each individual source, quantitative models and process analyses highlight the strength of comparative assessments across scenarios and water supply options to ultimately aid in decision making efforts. Larger frameworks including technoeconomic assessment (TEA) and quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) paired with new, scenario specific efforts can quantify priority metrics to highlight areas of both improvement and concern. Through this research, three different non-traditional water sources were approached individually to demonstrate three aims: 1) assessment of processes, layouts, and local factors for specific facilities to identify opportunities for capital cost reduction and conditions required to adopt seawater reverse osmosis desalination as a water source; 2) locally conducted surveys and water sample collection used to both quantify health risks and local perception of water use and quality for harvested rainwater after major tropical hurricanes; and 3) implementation of a dose-response model accounting for antibiotic resistance to produce a new outcome of quantified health risks to augment our understanding of risk-based regulations for non-potable reclaimed wastewater. The outcomes of this research will provide better understanding of cost origins, health risks, and where critical efforts are needed to improve design and use of these water sources.