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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jun/06/water-scarcity-us-facility-recycling-sewage-to-drink>
"As the pumps whir around us, Denis Bilodeau motions to the liquid in the vats
below. It looks like iced tea, but in fact it’s secondary treated sewage,
cleaned of any solids by the plant next door. In less than an hour, and after
three steps of processing, we will be drinking it – as pure water.
The Groundwater Replenishment System facility in Orange County, California,
houses the pipes, filters and pumps to move up to 130m gallons each day –
enough for 1 million people – processing it from dark to clear. The facility,
which opened in 2008, is part of broader moves to help conserve water.
Bilodeau, the president of the water district, says: “This is going to be a
blueprint for any community that’s facing water scarcity, or wants to have more
locally controlled water.”
The idea is to take the water from the sanitation district next door and to
push it through a three-step process – microfiltration, reverse osmosis and
ultraviolet light purification – to make clean water. The facility provides 45%
of central Orange County’s water and helps manage storm water inflows and
reduce reliance on imported water.
In general, once sewage has been treated, the water is returned to our rivers,
but extreme droughts and climate breakdown are pushing cities to consider using
recycled sewage for drinking water. It is already done in Israel, Singapore and
Kuwait, but Orange County has been a US pioneer in this area, hoping to reduce
dependence on water piped from faraway rivers or pumped from shrinking aquifers
under the ground.
Orange County has a population of about 3 million and gets about 14 inches
(35.5cm) of rain a year, some years far less, so recycling is not only a way to
reduce costs, it’s a way to make sure everyone has what they need.
“Everything’s going to have to be reclaimed and recycled,” says Bilodeau."
Via
Positive.News
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics