Soon We'll Be Drinking Recycled Pee;
Some of Us Already Are
Published November 1, 2010 6:42 PM
Copyright 2010 AOL Inc.
Summary
Robert Roy Britt, managing editor of LiveScience.com said,
"Someday, millions of Americans will be drinking their own urine."
LiveScience.com is a news site that prides itself on how it approaches science.
Because many people live in the area that most people did not live before in the past like the West, people will have to treat the raw sewage that they used and use it to drink or do other things with fresh water. In the future, people will have to use their raw sewage as a source of tap or drinking water.
Like many cities, Phoenix is 230 miles away from where it gets its drinkable water. That is Lake Mead. Many cities will go like Orange County, California and recycle their raw sewage. "From the toilet bowl to the punch bowl." Some people think it is just wastewater, but there is a process behind it all.
Orange County has highly treated water and the process takes only 45 minutes. After the various filtration and purification processes, they seep it back into the aquifer to blend with the natural water and then use it as tap or drinking water. This is a method called Groundwater Replenishment System or GWRS and it went online on January of 2008. It turns 96 million gallons of wastewater in to 70 million gallons of recycled water. It has an efficiency rate of about 75%.
This is something positive for the world because otherwise Southern California would dump 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater into the Pacific Ocean every day. There are discussions on expanding the 96 million to 100 million gallons per day of recycling the water. Some people are drinking their pee right now in Orange County and they don't even know about it.
Opinion/Reflection
I think treating wastewater and using it to drink is a better idea than dumping it in the Pacific Ocean. If there is a way to clean the water and help the environment, why not do it? If you are thinking there is no way I will drink raw sewage, you basically already are because the water cycle doesn't bring new water from space. The water is filtered naturally through many process. So you are already drinking filtered water that used to be some kind of sewage water millions of years ago so why not try the treated wastewater that used to be in your toilet?
Questions
1) Would you approve the use of raw sewage water for your neighborhood? Why or Why not?
2) Which would you rather drink? A bottle water from an unknown company that was there for years that is open or a cup of water from an aquifer that gets its water from filtered wastewater?
3) Do you believe eventually the Southwestern states will have to drink from the treated wastewater or use some other methods?
By: James Jung
When I saw the title of the article, I was kind of disgusted. But then as I continued to read the article I understood the benefits of recycling the waste water into drinking water. Over time, people have been drinking water that has been everywhere, such as coming from the rain, or the ocean. So it is not surprising to hear that pee will be filtered in the future for us humans to drink. I'm guessing that it is the only way for us to survive since there isn't many freshwater left in our world.
ReplyDelete1)Yes if only I don't know about it because I would think twice before drinking that water.
2) A cup of water from an aquifer that gets its water from filtered wastewater because if it's in an aquifer then, it must have been filtered and cleaned out.
I think it sounds pretty nasty when you say you are actually drinking your own pee. Turns out this idea makes sense. I think it is good that they are recycling wastewater. Then they don't have to dump it and pollute. It's not that bad to drink it as long as it's treated enough so we don't get sick. Even though the thought of drinking waste water sounds nasty, it's not that bad if it is treated right and is helping the environnment.
ReplyDelete1. How long do you think it will be until we start using this process? Why?
2. After hearing about this news, would you ever go to Orange County, if you were offered a free trip there, knowing that you would have to drink the water there? Explain.
3. Would you rather drink a cup of recycled wastewater or a cup of water with two flies in it? Explain.
When I first read the title, I thought "that is really disgusting! Why would anyone do that?" After reading and much thinking, I realized that all water that everyone drinks was pee at some point. The only difference really is the time it gets purified. I would think that the people in the West would first be disgusted by the thought of raw sewage being their drinking water. Once they were informed, just like me, they would not think of it badly and agree that it is a needed method to get water. They have very few options to get their water from, so this is one of the best options they have out there.
ReplyDelete1. I would approve of water in my neighborhood. I would be slightly grossed out for the first few weeks with the knowledge I have of the water, but it would be just regular water. I'm sure that there would be someone in my neighborhood that would not know all the facts and protest because they are uniformed of the process. Technically, the water we use had pee in it and was already treated, so it is similar to the water we would be given.
1. Are the regulations for recycled water more strict than purified spring water?
2. Why would people not like the idea of recycled water?
3. Does the EPA approve of recycled water?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSorry I forgot to add something in my original post, so here is the revised version:
ReplyDeleteI remember going to a waste treatment plant in 6th grade. It was gross to see all of the raw sewage being filtered and cleaned. To think that someday I might be drinking that almost makes me sick to my stomach. But when I think about it, it doesn't seem so bad. They are completely cleaning the sewage and if they are comfortable with giving it to people to reuse, then I doubt that it would be that bad.
1)Yes, I would approve of using the waste-water in our community. Like I said before, if those in charge of providing our water are comfortable with it and believe that we are in no danger, I would be fine with drinking the recycled water. Also, since the water we used to day is the same water that was on Earth millions of years ago, then who's to say we aren't already using waste or recycled water.
1) Why do you think that we need to start using recycled water?
2) Are you afraind to drink the recycled water? Why?
3) Would you argue if your community started using recycled water? Why?
Very interesting article, we will talk about this again later in the year. Still not sure where I stand on this topic...
ReplyDelete