Environmental Compliance, Waste & Water Management worked example

Water Reuse Payback with water reuse project investment of 92,500 $: a worked example in environmental compliance, waste & water management

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop water reuse project investment to 92,500 $, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimate simple payback for water reuse payback from investment, annual savings, and annual support cost.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Water reuse project investment: 92,500 $ (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 185,000)
  • Annual water and sewer savings: 62,000 $ / yr (held at the documented default)
  • Annual reuse system support cost: 11,500 $ / yr (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Net annual savings = annual water and sewer savings - annual reuse system support cost.
  • Water Reuse Payback works out to 1.83 yr at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Net annual environmental savings works out to 50,500 $ / yr at these inputs.
  • Water reuse project investment works out to 92,500 $ at these inputs.
  • Five-year net value works out to 160,000 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where water reuse project investment sits at 185,000 $ and the headline result is 3.66 yr, this scenario comes in 50% below the baseline at 1.83 yr.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to water reuse project investment, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It uses simple payback and ignores the time value of money, water-rate escalation, and step costs like membrane replacements that hit in later years.

Results at a glance

  • Water Reuse Payback: 1.83 yr (headline result)
  • Net annual environmental savings: 50,500 $ / yr
  • Water reuse project investment: 92,500 $
  • Five-year net value: 160,000 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Water Reuse Payback calculator, set water reuse project investment to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.