Estimation of Reclaimed Water Utilization Benefits in a Typical Coastal River Network

Nowadays, reclaimed water is widely acknowledged as a convincing alternative to fresh water resources, with it also recognized as an important material in water diversion projects around the world. As a typical coastal area, Taizhou city, located in southeast China, is close to the East China Sea. In this study, the benefits of reclaimed water utilization in a water diversion project are estimated, and both field monitoring and numerical simulation are executed to demonstrate the improvements in the local plain river network water quantity and quality. The highly developed domestic society and economy have led to a huge contradiction between water supply and demand. As a result, the coastal plain river network in Taizhou city is always plagued by low flow velocity and poor water quality. The utilization of reclaimed water in Taizhou city has been proven to be efficient and effective for the local development and environment in this study, and it will be a good tool for the coastal plain river network in improving both the water quantity and quality in the future for those cities close to the shore area.