Full Description

The Metropolitan Region of S¿o Paulo (RMSP) extends over around 8,000 km2 and currently contains 17 million inhabitants. Located in the headwaters of the Rio Tiet¿ and other water basins, water scarcity has been a problem in the region for almost a century. More than half the water used for public supply comes from basins outside the RMSP, creating various conflicts over use with the regions in which the water originates. Several water conservation programs and policies have been implemented by the responsible authorities, one example being the PURA (Rational Water Use Program). The region is also highly industrialized, with an enormous water reuse market. Given this situation, SABESP (the S¿o Paulo state water and sewage company) has been seeking means of reusing the final effluent from its WWTP (wastewater treatment plants) for industrial purposes. Following studies at the RMSP's main WWTP (Barueri) - with a secondary treatment capacity of 9.5 m3/s by the conventional activated sludge method - and an assessment of the region's potential market, the main characteristics of the procedures needed to render the water fit for reuse were defined. In a more advanced state of development, there is already a successful case of water reuse by industry implanted by a small-scale WWTP (Jesus Netto). However, there are still difficulties in the RMSP due to a lack of adequate regulations regarding water-reuse implementation. This paper provides information about the PURA and a detailed description of surveys and technical decisions that led to the procedures and layout in the Jesus Netto and Barueri WWTP cited above. Includes 4 references, tables, figure.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 01/01/2002 Number of Pages: 17File Size: 1 file , 440 KB