The WateReuse Association has released a new white paper, Advancing Water Reuse Within the Beverage Industry. The paper, which is written by GHD, is the result of a collaboration between WateReuse, PepsiCo, U.S. EPA, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, San Franciso Public Utilities Commission, and others as part of the National Water Reuse Action Plan. The white paper explores stakeholder engagement, regulatory, treatment, and technology issues related to water reuse within the beverage industry, along with key hurdles and near, medium, and long-term solutions to advance water reuse practices at beverage manufacturing plants.
The team identifies five priority challenges, promising solutions, and tactics to enable greater water reuse at beverage manufacturing plants over near-, medium-, and long-term time horizons. Near-term tactics include developing a glossary of terms to improve communication within the beverage industry, and a flow chart of how to use the Hazard Assessment Critical Control Point framework, a risk assessment approach that informs regulatory decision-making for water reuse in beverage manufacturing. A medium-term tactic is to develop a technical guidance document to inform treatment and monitoring designs, abating some engineering challenges resulting from current regulatory gaps. In the long term, commissioning demonstration plants to test ideas and inform industry best practices can clarify important decision points and enable the uptake of water reuse systems at beverage manufacturing plants.
It also highlights the collaboration among various stakeholders, including federal and local regulators, beverage manufacturers, non-profit organizations, and water professionals, to address barriers and drive opportunities for water reuse. The paper identifies key hurdles and proposes near, medium, and long-term solutions to advance water reuse practices, aiming to enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and achieve sustainability goals within the beverage industry.
