Viabilidade ambiental e econômica do reúso de águas residuárias tratadas para recarga artificial de aquífero: estudo de caso em aquífero litorâneo

Abstract

In the face of situations of conflicts over water use, especially in regions with a history of water stress associated with consumption growth, it is necessary to adopt sustainable management measures to ensure the current and future supply of drinking water demands. In Natal-RN, artificial aquifer recharge is an interesting alternative for the reuse of treated wastewater (TWW), as it contributes to increase the city's water availability, contain saline intrusion and maintain aquifer levels. The present work was aimed to assess the economic and environmental viability of the proposal. The results indicated that the implementation and operation costs of the reuse system (0.20 R$/m³) would be significantly lower than the costs of the implementation of a conventional water adductor (1.06 R$/m³) in order to reinforce the supply of Natal-RN. In addition, the environmental feasibility assessment indicated that the reuse of TWW for artificial aquifer recharge may be a sustainable practice.