Support grows in Bay Area for toilet to tap water

[KamaAina]

http://www.insidebayarea.com/drought/ci_28372207/california-drought-support-grows-bay-area-toilet-tap

Bay Area residents consider California's historic drought so dire that a majority say they would be willing to drink purified toilet water.

That's not the only finding in a Bay Area Council poll released Wednesday that used to be considered hard to swallow.

Many Bay Area residents appear to be putting aside some long-held notions about the environment, health and public costs to support bolder options to increase the water supply....

Only 36 percent of those surveyed in the online poll said they supported a $5 "drought fee" on top of their water bill. But 88 percent of those polled say they support the expanded use of recycled sewage water -- which is mostly used at golf courses, carwashes and other outdoor spaces -- and 75 percent favor the construction of more desalination plants to filter seawater into drinking water.

Must we? Couldn't we just water plants with it? Drinking water is a tiny fraction of overall water use. Not sure on washing machines, etc.

[Journeyman]

1. The Orange County (California) Water District implemented this years ago . . .

The purified water is used both for infusion in the sea-water intrusion barrier, and to replenish the groundwater basin.

ALL water is recycled. This simply speeds up the process.

Learn more here:

http://www.gwrsystem.com



Here's an interesting look at how little water we have on this planet: http://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwherewater.html

[pinto]

2. I think water from city systems being used to replenish groundwater basin is a big plus.

And as you say, all water is recycled.

[KamaAina]

4. By George, I think s/he's got it!

[NBachers]

3. I toured San Francisco's Wastewater Treatment Plant a few weeks ago.

A girlfriend of mine had arranged the tour, and I grudgingly agreed to go along. But I found it a fascinating tour, and I'd endorse it for anyone living in any community. Big Government at it's best.

http://sfwater.org/index.aspx?page=95

[petronius]

5. The 'ick' factor is a huge hurdle, but one I think we'll get over after a couple

more dry years (or at least, we'll enter a state of willful pretend ignorance about the water source).

I do like the idea of using the reclaimed water for groundwater replenishment, or to make up downstream environmental needs in trade for upstream withdrawals, but for broader uses I wonder how limiting infrastructure is if we want to keep the reclaimed water separate from the rest - we don't really have lines for drinking distinct from lines for washing etc. Is there enough segregated infrastructure to make use of all the available reclaimed water?

[mackerel]

6. I went to one of those DIY fairs in the city once-back in the 90's-I saw some really interesting

ways to re-use water being done back then. There were systems where you could run your laundry water through your toilet or have the laundry water drain out into the yard. Maybe toilet to yard water but I'm voting yuck on toilet to tap water.

[SoapBox]

7. So in the toilet to tap filter process...

Can they remove all the drugs that people are "excreting"?

There have been reports over the years about all the prescription medications that show up in the "used" water.