In 1996, the City of Ocala, Florida, constructed a subsurface reuse irrigation
project in the clear zone at the local airport. This site is the first reuse
project permitted on an airport property by the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) in the southeast in over 20 years. The site is a key element in Ocala's
reuse system, which was recently named the most innovative and effective reuse
system in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPAs) Region 4. The site earned
the nickname Stealth Reuse for it's almost invisible presence despite being
located next to two of Ocala's most traveled roads. In addition, the project flew
through permitting without a hitch and with no public opposition. The system
consists of a small operations building housing a filtration system and valve
controllers, and a 44-acre wetted area underlain by a network of mains and
distribution pipes. The site has operated successfully at an average of 500,000
gallons per day (GPD) over a three-year period. Monitoring data reveals that
groundwater quality has not been adversely effected despite high loading rates.
This paper covers the following topics: the background of Ocala's reuse/disposal
system; a review of the permitting strategy used to get reclaimed water on an
airport site; lessons learned from Ocala's two previous subsurface test sites; a
description of the system with typical sections and an operational schematic;
three years of groundwater monitoring data and the story it tells; the
operational and maintenance history of the facility; the applicability of this
technology to other users; and, a comparison of capital and maintenance costs of
underground systems and conventional irrigation. Includes tables, figure.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 1.7 MB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 9 |
| Published : | 01/01/2000 |
