Would you drink recycled sewage water?
By Aussies2007
@Aussies2007 (5336)
Australia
February 1, 2007 10:39pm CST
This is one of the propositions put forward in Australia as our continent is drying up.
According to world forecast... Australia will be the continent most affected by climate change. Within the next 50 years, the temperature will increase by 7 degrees and it will rain only one year every ten years.
5 people like this
37 responses
@lameran (1147)
• Indonesia
3 Feb 07
I think it is ok we drink recycled sewage water, if its was process with good process until it deserve to be drink, I think almost everyday what we drink is also recycled sewage water. Our water station get a raw material (WATER) from river that we use dumb everthing start from waste water from cleaning , our pee, etc and water station will process it until its good enough to be drink.
1 person likes this
@Aussies2007 (5336)
• Australia
3 Feb 07
The fact of the matter is that all water is recycled by nature.
You cannot get new water. All the water on earth is the same water which was there when the planet was formed million of years ago. We are probably drinking water that Julius Ceasar did piss in 2000 years ago.
1 person likes this
@Annarella83 (17)
• Italy
2 Feb 07
I study this kind of tratement plants, and I wish I won't need to project any, not because I am not able too (ehehe) but because it's such an expansive process that using it would just mean the environment is totally damaged.
Anyway, the process is very safe, and the water that comes out of it is clean, I'd drink it (and I only drink bottled water now).
1 person likes this
@Annarella83 (17)
• Italy
2 Feb 07
I forgot to say, on NASA's "spaceships" they do it, recycle water
1 person likes this
@livewyre (2450)
•
21 Dec 07
I don't know what it was that you thought you were drinking, but it is likely that a lot of water that you have drunk has already been through somebody or something somewhere!!
I work in the water industry (particularly in waste water), and know that sewage is treated and usually put back into rivers and streams.[the quality of this water is strictly controlled - and monitoring that is basically how the company I work for makes a living...]
Your drinking water comes either these natural water courses or reservoirs/bore-holes and goes through cleansing treatment before reaching your tap. Even if the rain is filtered through rock and come up through a bore-hole, the rain originally came from water evaporated from the earth and hence there's every chance that all water molecules or at least their components have been through someone before...
Sewage works effluent is very strictly regulated and in may cases that I have personally seen has less ammonia (indicator of urine) in it than the tapwater in our office. [this is no joke!]
@livewyre (2450)
•
22 Dec 07
You're right, the mistake is to think that our drinking water is somehow 'pure' when it is treated and filtered because it needs to be. Like you I would like to think that natural filtering cleanses the water perfectly adequately whether through rain or through the earth in bore-holes.
I have no idea what the proportion of river-water as opposed to rain water reservoirs supplies our taps. You could find out on a regional basis by looking at the following:
1)How many drinking water treatment plants in your region
2)where does the water come from for each plant (reservoir, river, desalination?)
3)what is the output from each of these plants in comparison with the total output for the region
Your local water board/water authority can provide these figures - and the same applies to any region in the world.
I have seen final effluent from sewage works which I believe to be totally clean, and would have no qualms about having that effluent fed straight into a drinking water treatment plant for further treatment. As you point out, some industrial users on the other hand are putting far worse things into our river systems than sewage...
@manong05 (5027)
• Philippines
3 Feb 07
I think modern technology and science have figured out a way to recycle water to produce a clean and 100% potable water. As long as it is done properly and with guarantee that it is 100% safe, then I will have no problem drinking it. What choice do I have anyway when water sources are depleted and there's no water available.
Desalination of sea water is another approach being considered. Between the 2, I prefer the latter. There is actually nothing wrong with recycled sewage water, it's our imagination that gives us the problem. Cheers.
1 person likes this
@raveemenon (1071)
• India
2 Feb 07
It is only a question of removing the mental block . In olden days we had only well water and it was pretty good and safe. The urbanization witnessed making use of river water for domestic purpose though no one would have drank it straight from any river. We crossed one barrier then. the scarcity increased and today we get sub standard water either contaminated or with chemical content beyond the safety levels. the next in the queue is the sewage water. This discussion and the post itself would become obsolete after a year or two, Remember human beings are the most adaptable species in the world.
1 person likes this
@friendship (2084)
• Canada
14 Dec 07
Oh no, Aussies2007. Australia is surrounded by Ocean. So, you don't have to worry about lacking of water there. At least, it is not now. When your country is having a winter season, please reserve the snow there. Thus, you'll have plenty water in the summer. Hopefully, my advice can be useful :-)
@friendship (2084)
• Canada
16 Dec 07
Well, Canada is currently having a lot of snow. I don't like snow. So, do you want me to bring snow to Australia?
@Aussies2007 (5336)
• Australia
16 Dec 07
We would love snow for Christmas.
We never had a white Christmas.
Bring it on... and we will make you an Aussie citizen and give you the key of the city.
@patootie (3592)
•
3 Feb 07
Here in the UK we've been recycling sewage water for donkeys years .. where on earth does all the sewage go in Australia if it's not sent to a sewage plant and cleaned up ?? You'd be awash with untreated sewage .. ??
Anyway .. don't worry about it .. the water that comes out of our taps in the UK is some of the cleanest is the world .. yet it goes round and round and round .. because the treatment plants are superb sat ridding the water of all poisons chemicals and the such like the water that comes directly from a sewage plant is actually more pure than water than comes from rivers, dams or other such sources and only 'cleaned' up ...
So start drinking recycled water .. you may actually find it's more pure than what you were drinking before ..
@Aussies2007 (5336)
• Australia
3 Feb 07
All of our sewage is pumped into the sea after going through a sewage plant. In the past... we had many problems with that as well... as the sewage was polluting some of our beaches.
The problem with Australia is that it is too big in relation to the size of its population. As a result... Australia cannot afford the cost of increasing the size of its infra-structure.
So politicians keep talking... but do nothing. Sydney has had a water shortage for five years... and nothing has been done. The politicians pray for rain every night so that they won't need to spend money to fix the problem.
@sigma77 (5383)
• United States
2 Feb 07
These guys making the predictions couldn't predict yesterday's weather with any accuracy. There are machines and systems that can make fresh water out of anything. No use worrying, all the crazies predicting the doom and gloom need to be thrown into the cess pool. You will figure out how to survive anywhere you might be.
@Aussies2007 (5336)
• Australia
2 Feb 07
It is not about figuring out how to survive under harsher conditions...
It is about preserving our quality of life.
Some people survived in the Mad Max movies. But would you like to live that life style?
People like you have buried their head in the sand for far too long... pretending that it will never happen. Well... it is happening in Australia right now. We have the worst drought on record and the cities are running out of water. The farmland of NSW is turning into a desert. I have never seen it that bad.
@zeloguy (4911)
• United States
2 Feb 07
Your continent is drying up and in America we are worried about our million-dollar beach homes going under water because of global warming.
I would think that taking sea-water and turning it into drinking water would make more sense. I know it is expensive to do that but if you have no other alternative....
@Aussies2007 (5336)
• Australia
2 Feb 07
Don't worry. When your sea level rise... it will rise world wide.
But that's only part of the problem. Violent storms will become more frequent and create sea surges between 22 and 110 metres. This would be similar to a mini tsunami.
@Zebrochka (333)
• Brazil
8 Feb 07
I am sorry, this is far too much!
Maybe just use it for watering plants? Or even taking shower?
Using it for flashing the toilet, some other technical purposes.
Come on, there must be some other good ways to use it!
@Aussies2007 (5336)
• Australia
9 Feb 07
The possibility of building a desalination plant in Sydney is back on the agenda.
But they are still not committing themselve to it.
The government is putting two conditions on it.
The Sydney reservoir has to fall below 30 percent.
And the people have to re-elect the government.
It sound like blackmail to me in order to win an election.
@jinxed666 (562)
• India
2 Feb 07
i think there wont be need of drinkin recycled water but the recycled water an be used for other purpose like in toilets and washing ur cars and any other purpose where the water is usually wasted and the fresh water would be used for drinking purpose only
@Aussies2007 (5336)
• Australia
3 Feb 07
This would be a great solution.
Unfortunately it would be impossible to do that as the cost of connecting every house to two different sources of water would be prohibitive. It would be cheaper to buy bottled water.
@Anakata2007 (1785)
• Canada
2 Feb 07
ewww, well I wouldn't now, but I'm sure if I was on the verge of dying from thirst than I would
@Lush_heidi (994)
• United States
2 Feb 07
my hubby has worked in septic and plumbing all his life,and many americans fail to realize the contents of a septic tank is sent thru a water purification plant and guess what? yep we drink it. Same with sewer waste- goes into water treatment plants, then therefor becomes county/city water.I am kinda glad I am on well water! Very few realize this, but it is what it is!
@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
2 Feb 07
I knew there was a reason I didn't like to drink water, now I know why. Ugh most of the waters around here make me ill to drink but the ones that are marked actually as reclaimed is for sprinklers and such only. Still it wouldn't surprise me if they wouldn't do something like that.
@happy29 (28)
• United States
2 Feb 07
My hubby works for our local city water dept.They do the same thing here.Run the sewer water through a treatment plant,then use it for city water.I think it's gross.Fortunately we are on a well.I drink lots of water,but I carry around bottles filled from my own tap.
@worthy (2413)
• India
13 Dec 07
the mere thought is sickenning.But guess i would drink it in extreme thirst
@Perry2007 (2229)
• Philippines
18 Nov 07
Water is life. If it is what is available for anyone to survive, I think yes we would drink it. This is one thing I am thankful in our place we havent reached that part yet. There are even streams in out home town where you can drink fresh water from the mountains. we call them here 'ubug'.
@smrohitsm (231)
• India
3 Feb 07
huh, I read that article in a news paper. I couldnt beleive that sewage water can be treated to drinking quality!! But more surprising was water shortage in sparsly populated Australia.
I dont think i would drink such water, unless am desperate.
Australia has lots of uranium, SO i think their govt should encourage other (Non rouge) countries to use nuclear energy. They will be helping themselves by doin so, insted of sitting on such huge reserves.
@spiderlizard22 (3444)
• United States
13 Nov 07
It would not be my first choice. I will only drink it as a last resort. Even though its clean I find it kind of digusting that it used to be sewage water. I know they are other ways of getting drinking water without recycling sewage water.
@bing_r77 (237)
• Philippines
16 Dec 07
is recycled seawage water safe and clean? hmmm, i think i will not drink that one..i' will just find another source of water if our water hear depletes...
