California launches ‘Toilet-to-tap’ water
purification program
RT 24 July
A sewage treatment plant will soon serve as
Santa Clara County’s newest source of water: pre-treated wastewater will soon
be used for electrical fountains, fire hydrants, and landscaping, and might
eventually replace tap water in residents’ homes.
County officials claim purified sewage is safe
to drink, but some residents are deeply disturbed at the prospect of drinking
what was once used in toilets.
The new $68 million Silicon Valley Advanced
Water Purification Center will open this fall. The plant will purify 8 million
gallons of sewage water a day through microfiltration, reverse osmosis and
ultraviolet light, CBS San Francisco reports.
“The state-of-the-art facility will take
treated wastewater that would have otherwise been discharged into the San
Francisco Bay and purify it,” the purification
center writes on its website.
Officials claim that the purified water is
cleaner and safer to drink than current bottle or tap water, but Santa Clara
County residents have nevertheless recoiled from the idea.
Because of the stigma surrounding the prospect
of consuming and bathing in former sewage water, the purified water will not
flow into homes – at least, not yet. When the facility opens in the fall, the
water will be used for fire hydrants, landscaping and electrical fountains
until officials are able to convince the public that the water is safe to
drink.
“It takes a long time to educate folks and
grasp this concept that this water can be purified to a level that’s cleaner
than what we are already drinking,” Marty Grimes of the
Santa Clara Valley Water District told CBS. “The reality is that we are able
to produce water that is cleaner than all of our other water sources.”
In the hydrology purification process,
coagulants such as lime and alum are added to the water to cause particles to
clump together. These clumps settle at the bottom of the water-holding tanks,
after which the water if filtered out and disinfected with chlorine. Microfiltration
ensures that all liquid and gas contaminants are removed, and reverse osmosis
ensures that certain molecules and ions are removed. Ultraviolet light is then
used to kill any microorganisms that might have survived.
Southern California is prone to droughts, and
the new facility will provide a reliable water supply that would be
particularly beneficial during long periods without rain.
“With the effects of climate change, population
growth and long periods of drought on the horizon, we need to find additional
local, sustainable water supplies,” the Silicon Valley
Advanced Water Purification Center writes on its website.
Although Santa Clara officials have ensured
that the purified sewage water is safe to drink, the Santa Clara Valley Water
District has previously come under fire for endangering the public by violating
state water-pollution laws.
The agency repeatedly spilled hydraulic oil
into its reservoirs, and last year faced a lawsuit for potentially damaging the
environment and tainting drinking water. The agency brushed aside the
allegations, claiming that the spills were small and insignificant.
But
as news of the toilet-to-tap purification process spreads, residents might
remain skeptical about the claims made by officials who considered hydraulic
oil spills no big deal
Sinn Féin Mountmellick - Serving The Community
No comments:
Post a Comment