Reclaimed water or recycled water is treated wastewater that is used for landscaping irrigation, groundwater recharge, and sometimes stream flow augmentation to benefit ecosystems. While various wastewater recycling technologies aim to reuse flowback and produced water from drilling in a cost-effective way, there is no agreement on the best approach, as methods differ in their use of chemicals, electricity, or solids removal. Agriculture has the highest water consumption but using reclaimed water for farming often faces resistance from conservative farmers uncomfortable with change, though water use varies significantly by crop type.

2. Reclaimed water or recycled
water, is
former wastewater (sewage) that is
treated to remove solids and certain
impurities, and used unsustainable
landscaping irrigation or to
recharge groundwater aquifers. The
purpose of these processes
is sustainability and water
conservation, rather than
discharging the treated water to
surface waters such as rivers and
oceans. In some cases, recycled
water can be used for stream flow
augmentation to benefit ecosystems
and improve aesthetics.

3. While various wastewater
recycling technologies have the
same ultimate goal – to give
drillers a cost-effective means
of reusing flow back and
produced water – there is no
clear consensus on how to
achieve it. Some companies use
chemicals, others use electrical
pulses. Some see removal of
solids as mandatory, some see it
as costly and unnecessary.

4. Without doubt, agriculture is the
sector with the highest aggregate
consumption of water and
significant savings are possible.
However, this will often meet with
opposition from farmers because
of an innate conservatism and
resistance to change within the
agricultural community. The
methods of using water vary
greatly according to the nature of
the crop.