A Review of Social and Organizational Barriers to Water Reuse in the United States

Water reuse is increasingly seen as a necessary part of municipal and regional water planning, driven by climate change, increasing populations, economic development, nutrient management, and supply diversification, among other factors. However, only a small fraction of the water discharged every day from municipal, industrial, agricultural, and oil and gas operations across the United States is formally reused. Despite the need for water reuse in water planning, barriers to adoption exist across several social and organizational dimensions: cost and rate development, policy and regulation, capacity development, organizational dynamics, and equity and environmental justice. This overview reviews these dimensions, synthesizing major findings from the literature and highlighting areas where additional research is needed. Existing work has focused on economic considerations of reuse and regulatory and policy impacts. While some research exists across the other dimensions presented, there is a need to expand what we know about organizational factors impacting the adoption of water reuse, including workforce and capacity building and equity implications.