Sludge Watch ==> San Diego - Toilet to Tap

[Maureen Reilly]

'Toilet to tap,' sewage plant overhaul must go
November 22, 2006

Mayor Jerry Sanders is calling for a whopping 35 percent jump in water and 
sewer rates to restore San Diego's long-neglected plumbing and to comply 
with state and federal environmental mandates. There is a good case to be 
made that capital improvements and attendant rate increases are necessary, 
but justifying hikes of this magnitude will be difficult. Before Sanders and 
the City Council impose such sharp hikes, they should make it clear to 
beleaguered ratepayers - who have shouldered a 50 percent increase in recent 
years and already pay among the highest rates in the nation - that two 
much-discussed boondoggles are removed from the table entirely.
The first is the notorious "toilet to tap" project, a mindless $238 million 
program that comes with uncertain health risks. The second is the proposed 
conversion of the Point Loma sewage treatment plant to secondary standards, 
a colossal $1 billion waste that would do nothing to reduce sewage spills or 
improve the ocean environment.
Abolishing these two dubious ventures today would give ratepayers confidence 
that the city will spend their money wisely on projects that are essential 
to safeguard their drinking supply and the environment. Confidence is 
lagging because of such unpopular initiatives as the "toilet to tap" project 
and because for years the city siphoned off millions of dollars in water and 
sewage funds to pay for unrelated programs. The most glaring example was a 
phony "right of way" fee concocted by the City Council to divert money from 
ratepayers into the general fund.
Sanders' proposal for about a one-third rise in water and sewage rates 
between now and 2011 would pay for $1.4 billion in basic capital 
improvements, including replacing worn-out pumps and pipes. The mayor's plan 
includes no money for the "toilet to tap" scheme or for rebuilding the Point 
Loma treatment facility. If the City Council goes forward with these two 
unnecessary projects, it would have to impose rate hikes that are roughly 
double those planned by Sanders.
Regardless of the costs, which are substantial, the "toilet to tap" proposal 
should be scratched for health and safety reasons. Under the plan, raw 
sewage would be treated and then dumped into the San Vicente reservoir. 
Reclaimed sewage water is indeed safe for many irrigation purposes and for 
some industrial uses. But adding it to the drinking supply raises many 
troubling issues.
For instance, the biomedical revolution is producing a staggering array of 
new pharmaceuticals excreted by humans into the sewage system. The long-term 
effects of consuming even minute levels of such drugs is unknown. In a key 
study, the respected National Research Council warned that converting toilet 
water to tap water should be employed only as "an option of last resort" 
because "many uncertainties are associated with assessing the potential 
health risks of drinking reclaimed water. ... One concern about potable 
reuse of reclaimed water is the potential health risk from little known or 
unknown pathogens."
As for spending $1 billion to overhaul the Point Loma sewage plant, even the 
federal Environmental Protection Agency and the state Regional Water Quality 
Control Board support San Diego's current practice of advanced primary 
treatment. Converting the plant to secondary treatment standards would do 
nothing to improve the marine environment.


http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20061122/news_lz1ed22top.html