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LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — When the overnight sprinklers come on at Pinckneyville Park, recycled water irrigates the baseball fields and nearby landscaping.
The county began piping highly treated wastewater to one side of the park about three weeks ago.
Using the “reclaimed water” instead of potable water to keep the fields green helps conserve the region’s limited water supply, said Conrad Gelot, director of engineering and construction at Gwinnett Public Utilities.
“There is a limited amount of water available for use in the greater Atlanta area, and the more we can reuse water, the more that will be available for human consumption,” Gelot said.
The park hooks into a 20-mile pipeline that takes treated wastewater from the F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Center near Buford to the Chattahoochee River.
While the park is the most recent to use recycled water from the Hill plant, it’s not the first.
That honor goes to Bear’s Best Golf Course in Suwanee, which for almost two years has used reclaimed water from the Hill plant to keep its greens smooth and its fairways lush.
In the future, others could join the roster. The city of Duluth has an agreement with the county that will allow it to hook into the pipeline and use the reclaimed water at the city’s Bunten Park, said City Administrator Phil McLemore.
And at a later date, a line will be extended from the Hill plant to the Mall of Georgia, which will use the reclaimed water to maintain its landscaping.
Besides preserving the region’s limited water supply, reclaimed water is also cheaper for consumers. Gelot said the county charges four times less for reclaimed water than it does for potable water.
Sam Shepherd, a manager in the state Environmental Protection Division’s Water Protection Branch, said the practice of recycling wastewater began in California and Florida more than a decade ago.
It gained ground in Georgia during the four-year drought that ended in 2002, particularly among golf courses that need large amounts of water to keep their links healthy.
“It’s grown quite a bit,” said Shepherd, who reviews state permits for wastewater plants and wastewater reuse activities.
“It’s mostly golf courses and golf communities,” he said, “but we do have some proposals where they are planning to provide reclaimed water for people to water their lawns.”
Besides giving consumers “a real attractive rate,” reclaimed water is also exempt from permanent outdoor watering restrictions that were adopted last week by the state Board of Natural Resources, Shepherd said.
Shepherd said reclaimed water is safe for the public and the environment.
“It’s designed for incidental human contact,” he said. “You don’t want somebody to pick up a hose and drink it — although they would probably be fine — but if some kid wonders through the sprinkler, we wouldn’t be too concerned by that.”
Gelot said the water is safe for all uses but direct human consumption.