Florida's Reuse Activities
 

Reuse has become an integral part of wastewater management, water resource management, and ecosystem management in Florida.

During the past 20 years, Florida has risen to be recognized as a national leader (along with California) in water reuse. Approximately 667 million gallons per day (mgd) of reclaimed water was reused for beneficial purposes in 2008. This represents an average per capita reuse of 35.45 gallons per day per person. Reusing 667 mgd of reclaimed water is estimated to have avoided the use of over 125 billion gallons of potable quality water while serving to add more than 79 billion gallons back to available ground water supplies.

The total reuse capacity of Florida’s domestic wastewater treatment facilities has gone from 362 mgd in 1986 to 1,536 mgd in 2008 which amounts to an increase of 324 percent! The current reuse capacity represents about 62 percent of the total permitted domestic wastewater treatment capacity in Florida.

Florida's Reuse

Reclaimed water from public access reuse systems was used to irrigate 260,456 residences, 477 golf courses, 805 parks, and 285 schools. Irrigation of these areas accessible to the public represented about 55 percent of the 667 mgd of reclaimed water reused.

• For a complete summary of reuse in Florida and to see how Florida compares to the rest of the United States, go to Reuse Inventory Database and Annual Report Webpage