Reclaimed Water for Drinking

Reclaimed Water Stretches the Supply in Texas

For years, cities across the United States have recycled their wastewater. The water that swirls down the drain when brushing your teeth and flushing the toilet is considered wastewater and so is the water used to wash clothes and dishes or the water that runs off the garage door as you spray it with a hose.

This wastewater travels down drains and into pipes that carry it to a water treatment plant where solids are removed and chemicals added to make it useable again, or reclaimed. Many golf courses use reclaimed water to keep their grass green.

Reputation of Reclaimed Water

Reclaimed water has the bad reputation of being dirty and not drinkable. In a society preoccupied with bottled water, the source of the water is extremely important to consumers. No one wants to read that the bottle they paid for is full of reclaimed water.

However, in drought suffering states such as Texas, the water supply is dwindling. Conservation efforts are in full swing, and Texan citizens can no longer afford to be so picky.

Texas Drought

The drought in Texas has lasted a year so far, and city planners are considering adding reclaimed water to the supply that’s pumped into homes throughout West Texas. The state’s water plan indicates that the state’s use of reclaimed water will increase by 50 percent by the end of 2012. What makes reclaimed water so attractive is that there’s a never-ending supply.

As long as people are taking showers and flushing the toilet, there will be reclaimed water. In West Texas, the three reservoirs that have given the area drinking water for years are at an all-time low. Clearly, changes need to be made and supply reconsidered.

Drinking Supply

Other states, such as California and Florida, have already added reclaimed water to their drinking supply, but this is a new venture for Texas. Currently in cities like San Antonio and Galveston, reclaimed water is shuttled to corporate campuses and industrial sites where they’re charged less because the water isn’t up to drinking standards. The reclaimed water that will be added to the future drinking supply will, of course, be safe to drink and will pass all health codes.

The new plant will cost $13 million to construct and will have two sets of filters. The water passes through the first filter to remove solids, and the second filter removes dissolved solids, like salts, out of the water. Then the water will be disinfected and will eventually join water traveling from the reservoirs into West Texas households.

Texas officials believe that because water is such a precious commodity in the drought plagued state, its citizens will understand the need for more reclaimed water and will overcome the psychological hurdle of its origins.

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Chris Keenan is a green and general blog writer. He writes for many sites including Precision Garage Door. Chris also maintains a personal house and garden blog.