Sludge Watch ==> Orange County Calif - Officials Plan to Turn Sewage into Drinking Water

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

Should we recycle sewage effluent into drinking water?

No

Here are some reasons why....

Sewage treatment does not remove all the chemicals and bacteria in the water

- endocrine disrupting chemicals like detergent agents nonylphenol (NP and 
NPE) remain in the water

- hormones and prescription and non prescription drugs remain in the water

- the effluent bacteria - having been comingled in the sewers with 
antibiotics and antimicrobials from hospitals and nursing homes- are now 
resistant to antibiotics and antimicrobials

By ingesting them the public can aquire antibiotic resistance - and be 
difficult to treat when they become sick, injured, or require surgery

- the wealthy will purchase bottled drinking water and the less affluent 
will drink the effluent -  A two tier water system

Better ideas:

-water conservation
- domestic grey water recycling to conserve valuable groundwater supplies

- on site septic systems in new developments
- composting toilets in new developments


.................................................................
Officials OK Plan To Turn Sewage Into Drinking Water

January 17, 2008, 7:16 PM PST

State health and regional water quality officials signed off today on the 
start-up of a purification system that will turn highly treated sewage into 
tap water, a water district spokesman said.

Approval for the $490 million Groundwater Replenishment System came from the 
California Department of Public Health and the Santa Ana Regional Water 
Quality Control Board, said Ron Wildermuth of the Orange County Water 
District.

The system, which has been under construction for nearly four years and was 
developed by the Orange County water and sanitation districts, will 
initially inject some 35 million gallons a day into an expanded seawater 
barrier to prevent ocean water from contaminating the groundwater supply, 
Wildermuth said.

Later, after another approval by the state Department of Public Health, 
another 35 million gallons will be pumped to the water district's spreading 
basins in Anaheim, where it will mix with Santa Ana River water and other 
imported sources and percolate into the groundwater basin to be drawn on for 
tap water, Wildermuth said.

The project -- described as the world's largest advanced water purification 
project of its kind, and one of the state's most significant -- takes highly 
treated sewer water and puts it through a three-step purification process 
that includes micro-filtration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet light with 
hydrogen peroxide, Wildermuth said.

The resulting near-distilled quality water, when injected into groundwater 
basins, will eventually provide up to 70 million gallons per day, Wildermuth 
said.

OCWD board President Steve Sheldon said the proces "produces the highest 
quality water we can put into our groundwater basin, and ensures water 
reliability for northern and central Orange County at a time when 
alternative water resources in the state and Colorado River basin are in 
jeopardy."

Jim Ferryman, chair of the Orange County Sanitation District, said the 
project "serves as a model for public agency collaboration on one of the 
most significant water projects in California's history."

http://ktla.trb.com/news/local/ktla-drinkingsewage,0,6794102.story?coll=ktla-newslocal-1