Reclaimed water uses are getting a second look in drought-ridden states. New public opinion studies are showing increased support for direct uses of recycled water, especially in California. As a result of shifting public opinion, “toilet to tap”, also known as direct potable reuse (DPR), is starting to gain more and more traction by many municipal water authorities.
Water managers in San Diego and Orange County are seemingly gearing up for the future potential of direct potable reuse. The Orange County Water District (OCWD) is now expanding its state-of-the-art “high-tech groundwater replenishment system.” Now the largest advanced water purification facility in the Western Hemisphere, the OCWD water reclamation plant currently converts 70 million gallons of wastewater daily into drinking water quality, which is currently used to replenish groundwater basins. While the OCWD plant produces high-purity drinking water, the plant’s technological capabilities are ahead of the regulatory environment.
(Read the full article by Jeff Daniels here.)
Currently, California law only allows recycled wastewater to be used for indirect potable reuse (e.g. – groundwater recharge). However, California state legislature has mandated that a framework plan for regulating direct potable reuse be created by the end of 2016. According to the Water Reuse association, reclaimed wastewater could provide more than 8 million California residents with adequate potable supply. This equates to nearly 20% of the state population projection for 2020. [1]
California regulators and water managers are taking the lead from a couple Texas cities: Wichita Falls and Big Spring. In 2014, these cities officially launched the nation’s first direct potable reuse programs, which can be read about here. In 2009, the city of San Diego began a 4-year pilot project to determine whether or not its water reclamation plant could produce water that meets all federal and state drinking water standards. By 2013, San Diego determined it could in fact accomplish this.
As a part of the pilot study, San Diego found that public support for direct potable reuse had risen “from 26% in 2004 to 73% in 2012.” [2] According to another recent study in the journal Judgment and Decision Making, only 13% of American adults say they would refuse to try drinking recycled water.[3] While it appears that although some Americans still struggle with the idea of toilet to tap, opinions on the matter are beginning to change.
DPR is not a new idea; it is finally gaining acceptance as the country is struggling to deal with the never-ending water stresses. For many years, NASA and the International Space Station have been using a technology that produces potable water (for crew members) by collecting a combination of condensation and urine. [4] As George Tchobanoglous, an expert in water reuse and a professor emeritus at the University of California puts it, “When it comes down to it, water is water. Everyone who lives downstream on a river is drinking recycled water.”
[1] Daniels, CNBC, “California drought gives ‘toilet to tap’ a new level of attention.” http://www.cnbc.com/id/102589492
[2] Daniels, “California drought gives ‘toilet to tap’ a new level of attention.”
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102589492
[3] Schwartz, The New York Times, ”Water Flowing From Toilet to Tap May Be Hard to Swallow.” http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/science/recycled-drinking-water-getting-past-the-yuck-factor.html?_r=1
[4] Daniels, “California drought gives ‘toilet to tap’ a new level of attention.”
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102589492