세계적인 신용평가회사 Fitch Ratings에 따르면 텍사스 수도시설이 부자연스러운 물 공급 문제를 다루기 위해 점점 신기술에 의존하고 있는 추세이다. 이 시설은 지속되는 가뭄과 빠른 인구증가로 인한 압박을 간신히 견디고 있는 상황이다. 물 수요가 새 공급을 앞서면서, 민관협력으로 시행된 새로운 인프라 구축뿐만 아니라 직접음용재생수(DPR) 및 담수화 같은 기술이 시설의 부담을 덜어줄 해결책으로 제시되고 있다.

텍사스에서 Colorado강 지자체 수자원구역과 Wichita폭포는 하루 수요의 30~40%에 해당되는 약 700만 갤런의 물을 제조하는 DPR을 실행했다. DPR은 식수기준을 충족하기 위한 폐수처리 과정으로, 대수층이나 저수지 같은 환경적 완충제의 사용 없이 처리수를 민물 수자원과 섞는다.

Fitch's U.S.의 공공재정부 차장 Teri Wenck는 “텍사스주의 물 시설은 수요의 증가와 가뭄 사이에서 줄다리기를 하고 있는 상황으로, 혁신은 가장 합리적인 선택”이라며 “창조적인 물 재활용 및 재사용 방법을 찾는 것은 가뭄으로 고통받는 지역에 미래를 보장해 줄 것”이라고 말했다.

 

 

 

According to new Fitch Ratings, Texas water utilities are increasingly relying on new technologies to address strained water supplies as the state grapples with the diverging pressures of continued drought and rapid population growth. As demand for water has outpaced new supply, technologies such as direct potable reuse (DPR) and desalinization, as well as new infrastructure funded by public-private partnerships (PPPs) such as San Antonio's Vista Ridge Pipeline, have emerged as solutions to ease the burden on utilities.

 

In Texas, the Colorado River Municipal Water District and Wichita Falls, for example, have implemented DPR, which provides about 7 million gallons of water per day (MGD) between the two entities, or between 30 to 40 percent of daily demand. DPR is the process of treating wastewater effluent to drinkable standards, then mixing the treated water with raw water supplies without the use of an environmental buffer such as an aquifer or reservoir.
 
"As water utilities around the state deal with the tug-of-war between growth and drought, their choice to innovate is more than sensible," said Teri Wenck, associate director of Fitch's U.S. public finance department. "Finding creative ways to recycle, reuse or share water may be the future for drought-stricken communities" (see: "Battling Water Scarcity: DPR Poised as Future of Water Recycling").

 

Despite the benefits, DPR can face significant hurdles in public perception and often comes with a high price tag. The cost of Colorado River Municipal Water District's water plant for DPR totaled $12 million, whereas Wichita Falls totaled $13 million. Desalinization, while not new in Texas, has also resurfaced as a solution, with the San Antonio Water System breaking ground on a three-phase, $411-million project that will eventually yield up to 30 MGD.

 

As other water retailers such as El Paso and McAllen look to diversify their water sources, final costs remain to be seen. Proposition 6, approved by Texas voters in November 2013, made $2 billion from the state's rainy day fund available for qualifying programs associated with future water supplies. Other programs such as San Antonio's Vista Ridge Pipeline have turned to PPPs to fund necessary infrastructure.

 

[출처 = Water World / 2015년 2월 9일]