Water We Waiting For?

Orange County opens recycled-water plant

Posted at 2:57 PM on 25 Jan 2008

A sewage reclamation plant officially opened today in Orange County, Calif., and will, sure enough, reclaim treated effluent and turn it into drinking water. Recognizing that its growing population -- currently 2.3 million -- is likely to outpace its supply of fresh water, O.C. is relying on the facility to turn 70 million gallons of water from disgusting to drinkable every day. Officials hope that the plant could eventually churn out up to 130 million gallons per day of water sans bacteria, viruses, carcinogens, hormones, chemicals, heavy metals, fertilizers, pesticides, and pharmaceutical remnants. The reclamation process uses less energy than transporting water to the country from elsewhere in the state. "All of Southern California should be doing these projects," says Connor Everts of green group Southern California Watershed Alliance. "They represent an efficient use of local resources. They are cost-effective and one of the most environmentally friendly things you can do."

sources: Los Angeles Times, NPR, Orange County Register

ADVERTISING POLICY

Comments: (8 comments)

You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have a Gristmill account, log in below. If you don't have a Gristmill account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five.

Just a few questions

As you salivate over the possibilities, here are a few questions to ponder:

Where do all those "bacteria, viruses, carcinogens, hormones, chemicals, heavy metals, fertilizers, pesticides, and pharmaceutical remnants" wind up now?
... and after treatment?
When they say that contaminants are removed to undetectable levels, how are they defining that? ("Not detected" is a term of art, defined around things like available detection technology, cost of detection, current thinking on harmful limits, etc... It does NOT mean not present, or even undetectable).

by ToiletToTap at 10:42 PM on 28 Jan 2008

Sludge

It's in the sludge, in various states of decomposition. That's the catch with biodigestion of the waste stream. All those toxins flushed with the organic waste.

Now they are dumped in landfills, rivers, and the ocean. Certain bacteria that concentrate metals, like mercury, allowing them to be removed from the waste have been developed.

This is a good approach, cleaning the organic matter that can then be used for fertilizer and soil amendment.

The best way to deal with toxins in the waste stream would be to prevent them from being dumped in the sewer system. Free toxic waste disposal would most likely take care of that. Then the toxins would not need separation from the biodigested waste.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin

by amazingdrx at 10:57 PM on 28 Jan 2008

Another question to ponder

As you salivate over the possibilities, here are a few questions to ponder:

Last I checked, there's no such thing as "new" water.

The water you're drinking now, is the same as the water that the cavemen drank.

"Recycled" many trillions of times till today.

-David Ahlport

by GreyFlcn at 11:11 PM on 28 Jan 2008

New water, and that which was permanently eaten

GreyFlcn wrote: there's no such thing as "new" water.

Then, is there such a thing as "eaten up" water?

GreyFlcn wrote: The water you're drinking now, is the same as the water that the cavemen drank.

Are you considering hydrogen to be the same thing as water?

In oxygenic photosynthesis, water (H2O) serves as a substrate for photolysis resulting in the generation of free oxygen (O2). This process is responsible for generating the majority of breathable oxygen in earth's atmosphere.

by Nucbuddy at 11:50 PM on 28 Jan 2008
[ Parent ]

Contaminated water

You can't get tritium out once it is in the water. It is formed in natural water as it is irradiated in a nuclear reactor.

It is leaking into groundwater and rivers from several known reactors. The rest haven't been tested is my guess. Other radioactive contaminants like strontium 90 have also been identified leaking from nuclear reactors.

These radioactive substances concentrate in human fat near sexual organs, irradiating and mutating our DNA. The food chain acts like a huge biological filter concentrating the effect in those at the top of the chain, namely humans.

That's how nuclear power uses water. It also heats it up making rivers too hot for the species that live there. That's why nukes have to shut down in summer heat/drought, just when air conditioning is vital to the survival of many elderly hospital and nursing home residents.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin

by amazingdrx at 12:11 AM on 29 Jan 2008

I foresee a huge spike in

bottled water sales.

by atreyger at 6:35 AM on 29 Jan 2008

You won't be drinking this water anytime soon

A classmate worked with people involved in this project, and she explained it to me in more detail. The water, once treated and filtered numerous times to remove the bad stuff, is released to surface waterways (like dry riverbeds) where it re-enters the groundwater. The actual cycle time from toilet to tap is something on the order of 10 years at the very least.

by 72brains at 4:47 PM on 30 Jan 2008

quick question

Why is it that we've been using potable water in toilets, well, pretty much my whole life? Why didn't someone think of using rainwater (I'm seeing this more and more) instead of fresh water in toilets sooner?

by greecyspen at 8:00 AM on 18 May 2008

The comments of Grist users reflect the opinions of those individuals only, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of Grist, its staff, its board members, their psychotherapists, or their aestheticians. Got it?