Arkansas - Zero Liquid Discharge_WQCC Letter of Support

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• The membrane concentrate contains all the contaminants that are removed from the raw source water during treatment, but in a volume of wastewater that is a fraction of the raw water volume. For example, at 95 percent recovery of membrane treated water from the raw water, the concentrate has twenty times the raw water concentration of pollutants; • It is generally not possible to discharge such waste streams to surface waters and maintain compliance with water quality standards - e.g. in areas of Colorado along the Front Range or where the receiving water is listed as impaired; • Many other common disposal methods (e.g., discharge to ground water; deep well injection; discharge to a municipal wastewater treatment plant; or evaporation) are also precluded due to cost and/or for technical or regulatory reasons; • Zero liquid discharge is a process wherein all of the water is separated from the contaminants in the raw water resulting in a solid residual that can be sent to a landfill or, for some compounds, may possibly be beneficially reused. • Technology to achieve zero liquid discharge has been demonstrated in small scale industrial applications but has not been demonstrated in municipal water treatment applications, nor at the scale of water treatment facilities along the Front Range. • For drinking water systems that serve the most populated areas of the state, or systems treating impaired sources, zero liquid discharge of concentrate may be the only long-term solution. The Commission requests that drinking water and wastewater utilities, as well as organizations working in the water resources field, support this project, both through written statements of support and/or through financial support for the project. If you need a point of contact to discuss the ZLD Pilot Project or to send letters of written/financial support, please call or e-mail Dave Alters at 303-692-3591 or dave. akers@ state. co.u s.