Is Wastewater a Waste?
Thinking About Water Differently
Singapore's main water department began an extraordinary program in 2003.
They planned to recycle wastewater at two new facilities to provide more than half of their country's water supply. Yes, I am referring to wastewater.
While this may appear to be a last-ditch effort, the initiative had been planned for decades to ensure the island nation never ran out of potable water.As climate change increases the frequency and duration of droughts around the planet, more and more regions are confronted with this issue. Is it safe, however, to reuse everything we flush down the toilet?
To answer this, we must first determine what is contained within this hazy mixture.
There are various forms of wastewater, but the main three are: gray water used in sinks, baths, and laundry; yellow water containing only pee; and black water that has come into contact with excrement.Every day, we produce enough wastewater to fill over 400,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. This wastewater combines in subterranean pipelines in cities and towns with sewage systems, which aren't actually packed with excrement.
A single liter of solid fecal material is included in every 4,000 gallons of sewage.
However, sewage still contains harmful contaminants such as billions of diseases and bacteria, trace chemicals, and excess inorganic nutrients that can pollute rivers and lakes.
Even if we don't intend to drink this concoction, we still need to clean it, which is why sewage systems are often connected to wastewater treatment plants.
Most plants remove important impurities from the water they treat, such as excrement, pathogens, and excess nitrogen. This necessitates numerous biological, pharmacological, and physical therapies.
Among the most significant are settling tanks for removing big particles, biological reaction tanks in which bacteria eat undesired materials, and chemical disinfection processes for killing pathogens. Following these methods, average treated wastewater in the United States is already cleaner than most natural bodies of water, allowing it to be discharged into rivers and lakes. If we intend to reuse the water for non-potable applications, such as irrigation or car washing, it is disinfected even more to prevent bacteria from forming during storage.
However, if we want it to be safe to drink, much more treatment is required.
Microfiltration is a popular method in which membranes with pores one millionth of a meter across filter out microscopic particles and bigger bacteria.The water is then sent through an even finer reverse osmosis membrane.
This membrane is semi-permeable, allowing water to pass through while preventing salt, viruses, or undesirable substances from passing through. Following this, UV lamps are submerged in water, emitting radiation that irreversibly damages the genetic material of any remaining life forms. UV disinfection is sometimes coupled with additional disinfection procedures.They use chemicals like hydrogen peroxide to manage a wide spectrum of microorganisms and micropollutants.At this time, the treated wastewater is thoroughly tested.
If it passes, it can safely enter the conventional drinking water pipeline, where it will be treated before joining the municipal supply.
This method is known as direct potable reuse, and while it is totally safe, there are certain concerns with such a direct system.In most instances, treated wastewater is discharged to an environmental buffer, such as a reservoir, lake, wetland, or groundwater aquifer, rather than being reused directly.Any residual compounds from the treatment process will diffuse and decay after some time in this environment.
The water can then be removed and pumped into the drinking water system.
In Singapore, the practice is known as indirect potable reuse, and it has become an increasingly popular lifeline for parched regions in the United States.However, this technique can only be implemented in areas with centralized sewage systems and facilities for pumping water into people's homes.
This implies that it cannot assist populations dealing with the most significant sanitation concerns, when access to safe drinking water is a daily struggle. On-site sewage recycling into drinkable water is being investigated by researchers on a smaller scale.
However, long-term assistance to these communities will necessitate a closer examination of all the water we've been wasting.
About the Creator
Myra Bozeman (Proud Man-Mom)
Twenty-five years of invaluable experience in community college education and in local government as a board of education leader, is how my visionary leadership catalyzed positive transformations within the realm of education.
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