OSCAR & CLARA Onsite Water Reuse Demonstration Project
Overview
- Category: Governmental
- Organization Location: Austin, Texas; Travis County
- Activity: Uses onsite rainwater and condensate collection, as well as reclaiming and treating blackwater, to reduce the site’s potable water demand by approximately 75 percent.
Background
The City of Austin’s new, 260,000-square foot Permitting & Development Center has an onsite collection and reuse (OSCAR) system where an underground 40,000-gallon collection and reuse system captures rainwater and air conditioning condensate and uses it for landscape irrigation and a water feature. The closed-loop advanced reclaimed assembly (CLARA) system can treat up to 5,000 gallons of wastewater per day onsite to be reused for toilet and urinal flushing. Utilizing the two systems together allows for more effective and efficient onsite water management that also helps extend the city’s core water supplies. OSCAR and CLARA are expected to save the city nearly 1.5 million gallons of drinking water annually and reduce the site’s potable water use by 75 percent.