Drinking Treated Wastewater – Stormwater

California is now under mandatory water restrictions because of the drought. An upcoming issue of Stormwater magazine will include an article looking at how the Los Angeles area is attempting to recharge its groundwater supplies by capturing more stormwater runoff than it has in the past—infiltrating it to replenish the aquifers rather than speeding it to the ocean through concrete-lined channels. The state is also looking at other ways not only to conserve but also to recycle this ever-more-precious commodity. This New York Times article, which our publisher pointed out to me, examines the possibility of turning treated wastewater into drinking water. Many countries and some US states already use treated wastewater to irrigate crops, and we also use recycled water for landscape irrigation. The end use depends, in part, on what degree of treatment the water has received. The water described in the article has been “stripped down to the H, 2 and O,” one water district manager explains. It’s perfectly drinkable—if people can get past the mental barrier of drinking it. [text_ad] Some cities in Texas, another state that’s experienced severe drought, use treated wastewater as part of their water supply. In California’s Orange County and elsewhere, the treated water is not sent directly into the drinking water supply but is allowed to infiltrate to replenish the aquifers—exactly what Los Angeles County is doing with stormwater, although the treated wastewater is, gallon for gallon, a much more expensive groundwater recharge source than stormwater is.