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O1l2584 There has been a reluctance on the part of the general population to the reuse of domestic waste waters, notwithstanding their involun- tary reuse of these waters for years. These waters can and are being reused satisfactorily without endangering the public health. The time is past when we can ignore this valuable source of water. In 1960 the estimated waste-water return from major urban and suburban areas in the Southwest was about 1 million acre-feet. As shown in table 14, less than 30 percent was reused. Only 27,000 acre- feet, or less than 3 percent, were reused from planned water reclama- tion systems, while over 70 percent, or 715,000 acre-feet, was wasted to the sea. Table 14 ESTIMATED MUNICIPAL & INDUSTRIAL WASTE-WATER REUSE - 1960 (1000's acre-feet at source) Area M&I Return Fl ows Nevada Las Vegas 15 Arizona Phoenix Tucson 65 25 Cal if ornia Los Angeles Santa Ana River San Diego Desert 630 140 100 --E. Total (rounded) 1,000 Planned Reuse Systems Wasted to the Sea Incidental Reu se Systems Involuntary Reuse Systems* Total Reu se* 1 3 11 15 0 0 2 63 65 0 0 15 10 25 0 15 5 15 35 595 5 40 35 80 60 5 10 25 40 60 1 ---2 -.l.2. -.l2 -.-Q 27 80 178 285 715 *Includes large nonbeneficial evapotranspiration losses. Since 1960 a new water reclamation project has been put into operation in the Los Angeles region. This facility reclaims about 10,000 acre-feet of water per year for ground-water recharge, and is physically capable of being expanded to 10 times that figure. EXisting planned and incidental reuses, shown in table 14, include industrial, irrigation, recreation, and ground-water recharge for both water supply and prevention of sea-water intrusion. Involuntary reuses are primarily from ground-water, recharge by septic systems, and sewage outfalls to natural watercourses. IV-5