Two Ways to Treat Urban Sewage

Just a few days ago, a friend of mine emailed an article from the NY Times talking about Orange County in California treating their sewage and then piping it back into people’s taps. Conceptually, it’s the correct thing to do but the cost attached is much too high. Of course, this is not the first place in the world trying to do something like this:

“Namibia’s capital, Windhoek, among the most arid places in Africa, is believed to be the only place in the world that practices ‘direct potable reuse’ on a large-scale, with recycled water going directly into the tap water distribution system”

Ironically, just a couple of days later, I came across an article about a county near Atlanta, Georgia, which has enough water in their system even though the surrounding areas are facing the spectre of drought. Instead of thinking along the lines of a sewage treatment plant, they created wetlands and planted forests so that the water got treated more naturally. It cost a lot less and it sounds a far more sustainable idea.

More: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (page no longer available)
Via  : TreeHugger



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