Town to Combat Drought With Reused Wastewater

[Hum]

The Texas drought is forcing one city to consider a direct reuse of wastewater as drinking water.

Because of the lack of water, the town of Brownwood may tap into their wastewater by installing a system that cycles toilet water through a series of treatment plants and right back into the municipal water supply.

"The drought can be a very persuasive argument to look for new sources of water," Jorge Arroyo, the Director of Innovative Water Technologies with the Texas Water Development Board told MyFoxAustin.

With the state population expected to hit 50 million people in 50 years, Arroyo says new water resources must be found.

The idea of building a toilet to faucet water system has some residents questioning the sanitation. Bob Valentine and his wife reaction to this idea saying, "somebody better have a real good filtration system."

The Director of Utilities in Brownwood, David Harris says the hard sell is not convincing residents that treated wastewater idea will work.

Much of the state remains under drought conditions and community water systems are struggling under the dry conditions. The situation is serious but Arroyo says there is still time to develop a plan.

Building plants to treat salt water is a key part of the state plan. The water would come out of the Gulf and from oceans of underground aquifers.

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[cybertimber2008]

Most people don't understand that in areas where they take water in from lakes and streams, the water coming out from the waste treatment plans back into the streams is often cleaner then when it came in.

[theyarecomingforyou]

Fresh water is going to be one of the most pressing issues of the 21st century. The western world is incredibly inefficient when it comes to water usage and farms have been using aquifers at a completely unsustainable rate, especially in the US and Australia. Desalination is going to become critical to supply drinking water and greywater systems will need to be legally required in countries where that is currently not the case (the UK is seriously lagging behind in this area).

Unfortunately it seems governments and people are stuck in a reactionary mentality and not enough is being done to plan for the future. We need to take dramatic steps now or else large areas will become completely uninhabitable - that's already looking likely in places like Las Vegas and Perth. If we don't take action now it will cost a lot more in the future. This is an interesting idea but it's a tiny part of the needed solution.

[jakem1]

Desalination is an energy intensive process, is hugely expensive and creates waste that can be difficult to dispose of. It should only really be considered as a last resort. Greywater systems make more sense and are only politically difficult to implement because people don't like the idea of drinking treated waste water. I don't know about the rest of the UK but water in London is recycled, is perfectly clean and tastes fine.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

LOL! That's less than an hours drive from my house. :p

[theyarecomingforyou]

Desalination is an energy intensive process, is hugely expensive and creates waste that can be difficult to dispose of. It should only really be considered as a last resort.

But that's exactly the point - it is a last resort. Towns like Perth have had to invest billions upon desalination plants in order to be able to supply enough water, plants which as you says as expensive and inefficient.

Greywater systems make more sense and are only politically difficult to implement because people don't like the idea of drinking treated waste water. I don't know about the rest of the UK but water in London is recycled, is perfectly clean and tastes fine.

Greywater systems are certainly part of the solution but I'm not sure why you're under the impression that greywater is used for drinking water; it's explicitly not for that purpose. Typically it's used for flushing toilets, outside taps and washing machines. It's really not that politically difficult either, as it's a pro-environmental policy that offers benefits to users (once installed it reduces water bills).

[Rippleman]

Fresh water is going to be one of the most pressing issues of the 21st century. The western world is incredibly inefficient when it comes to water usage and farms have been using aquifers at a completely unsustainable rate, especially in the US and Australia. Desalination is going to become critical to supply drinking water and greywater systems will need to be legally required in countries where that is currently not the case (the UK is seriously lagging behind in this area).

Unfortunately it seems governments and people are stuck in a reactionary mentality and not enough is being done to plan for the future. We need to take dramatic steps now or else large areas will become completely uninhabitable - that's already looking likely in places like Las Vegas and Perth. If we don't take action now it will cost a lot more in the future. This is an interesting idea but it's a tiny part of the needed solution.

It's going to be EXTREMELY interesting starting in the next 50 years to see the world desire water equally with oil :)

[*RedBull*]

Don't astronauts drink recycled water? And they tend to be healthy people.

[Hum]

LOL! That's less than an hours drive from my house. :p

Drink up :shifty:

[ozgeek]

It's people that buy tapped water that is harming the environment. I work as a cashier and scans through so many water bottles it's crazy why people are drinking them when they have available clean water through their homes which is pretty much the same.

Damand for clean water is extremely high while normal responsible animals are enjoying water from any sources. It is because of one species of animals that live on Earth, called the humans, that waste the resources just because it is dirty.

I drink out of my tap for years with no ill effects. That is because my immune system has taken to accept this type of water and will efficently and naturally filter the water as my body consumes it.

[jakem1]

Greywater systems are certainly part of the solution but I'm not sure why you're under the impression that greywater is used for drinking water; it's explicitly not for that purpose. Typically it's used for flushing toilets, outside taps and washing machines. It's really not that politically difficult either, as it's a pro-environmental policy that offers benefits to users (once installed it reduces water bills).

Sorry, you're right. I meant recycled water rather than grey water but I agree that it can be used for all the purposes you listed.

[Hum]

I drink out of my tap for years with no ill effects. That is because my immune system has taken to accept this type of water and will efficently and naturally filter the water as my body consumes it.

Wait till you get old :shifty:

[Spartan Erik]

I drink out of my tap for years with no ill effects. That is because my immune system has taken to accept this type of water and will efficently and naturally filter the water as my body consumes it.

I think this largely depends on where you live. In some parts of Houston at least, there is naturally occurring radiation in limestone that is dissolved and carried through water. Some parts of town have more radioactive tap than other parts, and with higher amounts of radiation you theoretically have a higher likelihood of developing cancer.

Source: http://www.khou.com/community/A-Matter-of-Risk--Radiation-Drinking-Water-and-Deception-129145553.html

That said, I still drink from the tap. Brita filters are amazing, especially in my part of town where the tap water is extremely hard (high mineral content)

[123456789A]

I've been buying stock in water treatment/chemical companies over the past 5 years and I am getting a good return on the investment.

[Growled Member]

It's going to be EXTREMELY interesting starting in the next 50 years to see the world desire water equally with oil :)

Yes, it is. The fight over water will put the put the fight over oil to shame.

[Rippleman]

just thought of something... its going to be AWESOME (in an odd way) when we (Canada since its the 3rd lagest freshwater source in the world) can start EXPORTING water to the middle east at $100 a barrel. ;) Karma sucks doesn't it middle east?

[Ci7]

just thought of something... its going to be AWESOME (in an odd way) when we (Canada since its the 3rd lagest freshwater source in the world) can start EXPORTING water to the middle east at $100 a barrel. ;) Karma sucks doesn't it middle east?

rether die dry then live with your wet!

actually prepeare to get dozen more immigrents to fill your empty lands :p

[spaceelf]

It's people that buy tapped water that is harming the environment. I work as a cashier and scans through so many water bottles it's crazy why people are drinking them when they have available clean water through their homes which is pretty much the same.

Also pop, juice, pretty much anything that sits in a bottle on the shelf takes water out of the environment for weeks/months at a time.

There's also a lot of water used in electronics production, though I have no idea what state it exits the plants in.