HRSD Turned One Billion Gallons of Sewage to Drinking Water

In southeastern Virginia, the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) has been busy doing something both highly technical and surprisingly straightforward: turning treated sewage into drinking water. As of this month, their efforts have reached a milestone. The district has now processed and injected over one billion gallons of recycled wastewater into the Potomac aquifer, the underground reserve that supplies much of the region’s drinking water.

Through its Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow, or SWIFT, HRSD is rethinking what happens after people flush toilets or drain bathtubs. Traditionally, wastewater from homes and businesses travels to HRSD’s treatment plants, where it undergoes a cleaning process before being released into nearby waterways. But now, a portion of that water is being cycled back into the aquifer — not as waste, but as a vital resource.

A New Path for Old Water

Launched in 2018, the SWIFT program began at a research center in Suffolk. The idea was to reclaim water, purify it to match aquifer standards, and then inject it underground. Over time, the district has worked to scale up this process. By 2030, HRSD plans to recharge the aquifer with 50 million gallons of water every day.

“I can’t believe it,” said Germano Salazar-Benites, a treatment process engineer with SWIFT. “I remember pressing the button when we started recharging and I was so excited.”

That excitement is not just personal. Virginia has been withdrawing water from the Potomac aquifer for over 100 years. The demand has consistently exceeded the aquifer’s natural recharge rate, slowly draining the resource. As the underground reserve depletes, the land above it begins to sink — a process known as subsidence. In Hampton Roads, this sinking has worsened the region’s vulnerability to rising sea levels.

By injecting high-quality treated water back into the aquifer, HRSD hopes to address two problems at once: replenish the groundwater supply and potentially slow or even reverse land subsidence. Engineers are using tools like extensometers, which measure tiny shifts in ground elevation, to observe whether recharging the aquifer can actually lift the land.

“We can see the land rise ever so slightly,” said Salazar-Benites. “It increases pressure in the aquifer.”

Meeting Environmental Requirements with Innovation

While the environmental benefits are considerable, the project was not created in a vacuum. HRSD’s General Manager and CEO, Jay Bernas, explained that SWIFT was developed in part to meet regulatory demands. Both state and federal laws require the district to reduce the amount of pollutants it discharges into the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

These rules are part of a larger multi-state effort to restore the Bay, which has suffered from decades of nutrient runoff — mostly nitrogen and phosphorus — that fuels harmful algae blooms and depletes oxygen levels in the water. Wastewater treatment plants are one of several contributors.

By recycling and injecting the water instead of releasing it, SWIFT drastically cuts nutrient pollution. Bernas said the expanded program is projected to reduce nitrogen output by 70% and phosphorus by 50% from 2021 levels.

Five Layers of Purification

Treating wastewater to drinking water standards is not simple, but it’s also not mysterious. At the SWIFT research facility, water goes through five layers of treatment. These include ultraviolet light, ozonation, and fine filtration. Each layer removes particles, disinfects pathogens, and breaks down organic material.

“The water that exists in the aquifer is really high quality,” said Salazar-Benites. “Our main job is basically [to] make sure that the water that we produce matches that quality, so it doesn’t disrupt the chemistry that is already there.”

In practice, that has meant adapting the system over time. Engineers made changes based on data and evolving science, particularly in response to stricter federal rules around PFAS — a class of synthetic chemicals often called “forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the environment. HRSD is now refining its system to reduce these compounds to comply with new limits.

A Billion-Gallon Milestone and Looking Ahead

The billion-gallon mark is both symbolic and practical. It represents real water saved, real progress made. But it also reflects how long-term strategies can emerge quietly and steadily through public infrastructure.

To mark the milestone, the district hosted an educational event with third-graders from Aberdeen Elementary School in Hampton. The visit coincided with “Imagine a Day Without Water,” a national campaign to raise awareness about the importance of water systems.

At the Suffolk facility, the children learned how water travels through a city, what happens after it goes down a drain, and why conservation matters.

Future Infrastructure and Federal Support

Scaling up SWIFT from a research initiative to a full-blown infrastructure program requires major investment. The full expansion, projected to cost $2.8 billion, will add two large-scale facilities — one in Suffolk and another in Newport News.

The federal government has backed the project with a $1.3 billion loan through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program. This funding helps cover construction and system upgrades needed to bring the plan to regional scale.

This model — turning wastewater into aquifer-quality drinking water — isn’t unique to Virginia. But HRSD’s progress and scientific rigor have made the initiative one of the most closely watched in the country.

Reverse Osmosis and Water Conditioning: Strengthening the Water Cycle at Home

At the household level, systems like reverse osmosis filters and whole-home water conditioners complement large-scale efforts like SWIFT. Reverse osmosis can remove contaminants such as PFAS and heavy metals, providing added peace of mind. Whole-home conditioners protect plumbing and appliances from mineral buildup, extending their lifespan.

For areas near coastal or brackish zones like Hampton Roads, these technologies help guard against saltwater intrusion — a growing risk as aquifers deplete. While HRSD works to refill the region’s underground reserves, individual water treatment systems help families maintain safe and reliable water indoors.

Source: WHRO