“Today heralds a new era of water reuse,” is a statement by Patricia Sinicropi, the Executive Director of WaterReuse California. It’s a bold claim, but it’s true.
California has approved necessary standards for converting wastewater into potable drinking water, a process known as “direct potable reuse.” This decade-in-the-making initiative represents “a landmark in the quest to reclaim some of the hundreds of millions of gallons of waste discharge that flows out to sea unused each year.”
There are both direct potable reuse and indirect potable reuse systems being put into place. Indirect potable reuse is when the purified wastewater is still run through a water treatment system before reaching your tap.
It begs the question: should you invest in a reverse osmosis system before these initiatives reach your city? Based on available information, large cities in California will be ready for this technology to go into full effect first.
It’s a Step Towards Reducing Millions of Gallons of Unnecessary Waste
While the idea of drinking purified wastewater doesn’t sound appealing, the large-scale impact is reducing the amount of wastewater that flows into the sea by hundreds of millions of gallons per year.
It’s a more environmentally friendly way to handle current wastewater issues, which can help offset droughts that we commonly face across California. This method is being compared to desalination, which is the cleaning of seawater, which isn’t very cost-effective or efficient by any means.
It’s estimated that recycled wastewater may even account for up to 15% of water supplies in coastal communities during droughts and similar conditions in the coming years.
When Should You Expect Recycled Wastewater in Your Tap?
It’s difficult to say. The cost of this initiative is set to be around $1 billion just to create the necessary facilities. However, at the costs that California droughts impose on our entire state, it appears to be money well spent.
When this water reaches your tap is unclear, though local municipalities should provide information as this initiative spreads to more homes, especially in urban areas. In the meantime, we’ll do our best to cover this subject on our blog.
How to Protect Your Family WIth EcoWater
EcoWater helps remove chemicals in your water supply that may be added by your city to help reclaim water. These systems can also help alkalize your water so you don’t have to buy alkaline water from the store in packaged bottles. Find out more about how an EcoWater system can help your home right here.
Contact us today to schedule your EcoWater system installation as soon as possible.