What is Recycled Water?
It's water that is used, purified and used again. In Boise, we’ll collect water used by local businesses and industries to purify for reuse.
Why Recycle Water?
The Recycled Water Program prepares our city for growth, drought and climate change. The new Recycled Water Facility will add 6 million gallons to our water renewal system, allowing our growing city to support more residents, businesses and industries. By purifying water for reuse, we’re creating a drought-proof water supply to protect access to clean water for generations to come.
How Will Boise Recycle Water?
We’ll recycle water using groundwater recharge and industrial reuse, two programs that are supported by Boise residents to keep our water local. The Recycled Water Program could be expanded to serve even more uses in the future, and we’ll continue to engage with our community to hear which uses matter most.
Groundwater Recharge
Groundwater recharge replenishes our groundwater with purified water. In Boise, 70% of our drinking water comes from groundwater, and our supply is starting to decline in some parts of the city. Groundwater recharge boosts the local water supply to prepare for drought and support our growing city.
Protecting Groundwater Quality
We’re studying how purified water interacts with rocks, minerals and the native groundwater. These studies include:
Geology to learn what types of soil layers there are and how deep the groundwater is.
Hydrogeology to learn how long it takes water to filter through the soil and the direction of the groundwater flow.
Geochemistry to understand the minerals and metals present in the soil and how they interact with groundwater and purified water.
Industrial Reuse
Industrial reuse creates a new, sustainable water system for local businesses and industries. Industries depend on our local water supply for manufacturing, cooling and washing equipment. With industrial reuse, they’ll be able to use purified water from the city’s Recycled Water Facility instead, creating a closed-loop water reuse system that allows us to support more local industry and create new jobs while preserving our drinking water.
When Will Boise Start Recycling Water?
Boise will start recycling water in 2029. The Recycled Water Facility will be built in Southeast Boise’s industrial zone, near potential recycled water users. We expect to break ground on our future site in 2025 and start construction in 2026.
Protecting water quality is the top priority for us and for our community. That’s why we built a small-scale version of our future facility to test the technologies that we’ll use in 2029 to create safe, high-quality water. At this small-scale facility, we tested more than 40 thousand samples to learn the best way to purify water for reuse.
Expert Review of Our Program
We share our study results with independent experts and use their feedback to improve our program. The City of Boise presented a full technical report to a panel from the National Water Research Institute (NWRI) in 2021 and 2023. You can watch videos of the presentations from the City of Boise and read the responses from NWRI in their reports at the links below..
Learn More
Do you have a question about the City of Boise Recycled Water Program? Would you like our team to present to your local group or organization?
How to Support Our Program
You can help us create a resilient water future in Boise by voicing your support for the Recycled Water Program.
Send a Message to City of Boise
Please fill out the form and a representative from the City of Boise will be in touch with you.