Posted on 05/15/2008 3:09:23 PM PDT by XR7
LOS ANGELES — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Department of Water and Power are expected to announce on May 15 a revised water use and management plan for this city that includes using recycled wastewater to recharge drinking water aquifers, according to a May 15 Los Angeles Times article.
The new plan allocates about $1 billion for the proposed reclamation system, also known as “toilet-to-tap” or “sewer-to-spigot.” The city would recycle about 4.9 billion gallons of treated wastewater to drinking standards by 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported on May 15.
Villaraigosa, who less than a decade ago opposed such a plan, now is considering using the highly treated wastewater to recharge underground drinking supplies serving the San Fernando Valley, Los Feliz and the Eastside, The Times said.
The long-term proposal is expected to carry a $2 billion total price tag, and impose water-use restrictions on Angelenos. Ratepayers also would be encouraged to upgrade their appliances to those that are water-saving. The Times reported that financial incentives and building code changes would be used to incorporate high-tech conservation equipment in homes and businesses.
The proposed plan has been devised to help the city meet its increasing water demand, which is expected to grow by 15 percent within the next 22 years.
Department of Water and Power General Manager David Nahai said in the article, “This is a radical departure for the city of Los Angeles.”
Nahai said some details of the proposed plan need to be worked out, but in crafting the new plan, the city has looked at its previous water reclamation attempt in the 1990s.
“This is a new day. We have new technology. We’re going to reach out very aggressively to the public and engage them as to the facts,” Nahai said in the article.
The handful of “toilet-to-tap” water recycling operations in the United States typically treat wastewater to at least drinking-water quality before sending it into drinking water supplies.
To read the full Los Angeles Times article, click here.
To read the full Wall Street Journal article, which includes an in-depth look at recycled water, click here.
For related information on this story, click here.
$2 billion today.
Wonder if they'll just have one bidder for the project?
And, will it be a "cost-plus" contract?
Si se puede!
Is there an alternative?
What is the realistic alternative?
After you Mr. Mayor. Well, after you.
You said the N-word .... Nuclear.
You said the N-word .... Nuclear.
Doesn’t Orange County already do this??? They inject it back into the aquifer to prevent saltwater penetration into the water supply I believe.
“Honey! This water tastes like s**t!”
Is there an alternative?
Yellow snow
"Don't drink the Soylent Brown!"
As the operator of a water plant, I have no problem with these plans. We’re expected to remove contaminents down to a parts per billion now. Cleaning sewerage is easy in comparison.
I have a friend of mine who works for a muncipal water department. He told me that all waste water, whether it comes from the sink or toilet, is cleaned, purified, and returned to the water supply. Eventually, the same water will be used again, taken into the water system, treated and purified, and sent to our homes.
John and Ken are going to have sooo much fun with this today.
LOL!!!!
contaminant’s, sorry!
Already doing this in Orange County.
That is the simple mistake I'm worried about. Just one in 1,000,000,000 that I would end up drinking! :-)))
After all, where do they think the towns downstream from Ann Arbor Michigan get their water other than the same river into which Ann Arbor dumped their treated wastewater?
So why are we so concerned about the trace amounts of anti-biotics and other drugs found in tap water?
Do you remove prescription drug contaminents?
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