This roundtable will focus on the intersection of potable water reuse (i.e., using treated wastewater as a water supply source) and US chemicals policy, which allows for use of potentially hazardous chemicals that ultimately contaminate our water supplies. If potable water reuse is indeed a "future imperative" as leading water reuse scholars have stated, and assuming that traces of certain chemical contaminants (e.g., flame retardants, PFOA) in water are an environmental and public health concern, how should we manage chemicals going forward in order to make potable water reuse both safe and economically feasible? Will current chemicals policies be sufficient and effective in protecting public health?

    Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) enter the wastewater stream through numerous sources and can remain in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent, resulting in adverse effects on aquatic wildlife. Community concern about CECs in WWTP effluent has been documented in several cities, and perceived risks to human health and the environment can hinder water reuse projects. Though the health effects of low levels of CECs in drinking water have not been definitively established, scholars predict that the presence of CECs, typically in trace amounts, will continue to be a significant factor in public and regulatory acceptance of water reuse projects. CECs have been found in most water bodies throughout the US, and thus are of concern in many “traditional” water supplies. Currently in the US, regulation of water reuse is left to the individual states, and most states rely on federal policy to regulate chemicals.

    Leading water reuse scholars have suggested that enhanced source control programs be established to reduce or eliminate the discharge of substances that are difficult to remove through wastewater treatment, with the long-term goal of eliminating from consumer products chemicals that end up in the wastewater that are hazardous and not amenable to treatment. However, discussion is absent in the literature about how such source control might be accomplished, i.e., through voluntary actions, regulatory action, or by some other means. Recent research suggests that while consumers are concerned about exposure to possibly hazardous chemicals, they lack knowledge about chemicals contained in consumer products. It is unknown whether, with proper education, the public would be willing to change its product choices to minimize CECs in reuse water or whether a different solution (regulatory or otherwise) would be needed.

    Through a group discussion with participants from diverse backgrounds, the objective of this roundtable is to brainstorm interdisciplinary solutions to the problem of CECs in wastewater and the safety of public drinking water supplies. Ideally the group will eventually produce a paper that addresses the tensions between chemicals policies / chemical use and the ability to produce safe and affordable drinking water, along with possible solutions to address the problem, as potable water reuse continues to become a reality in communities across the US.