Posted on 01/28/2007 4:36:03 PM PST by blam
Australian state leader says he must recycle drinking water because of drought
The Associated Press
Published: January 28, 2007
CANBERRA, Australia: An Australian state will become the nation's first to introduce recycled sewage to its drinking water, and the rest of Australia would follow suit as a record drought threatens water supplies around the country, a state leader said Monday.
Queensland state Premier Peter Beattie announced his government had scrapped a referendum planned for March on whether Australia's third most populous state should introduce recycled drinking water.
Beattie said falling dam levels left his government with no choice but to introduce recycled water next year in the state's southeast — one of Australia's fastest growing urban areas.
"We're not getting rain; we've got no choice," Beattie told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
Australian farms and most cities are in the grip of the nation's worst drought in a century, with some areas receiving below average rainfall for a decade.
"I think in the end, because of the drought, all of Australia are going to end up drinking recycled, purified water," he added.
Morris Iemma, Premier of New South Wales, the most populous of Australia's six states, said drinking recycled water was not inevitable for Australia's major cities including his state capital, Sydney.
South Australia state Premier Mike Rann said his state — Australia's driest — already used recycled water to irrigate crops but would not introduce it to the drinking water supply.
Victoria, the second most populous state, did not need to recycle drinking water, the state's acting Water Minister Justin Madden. He said using recycled water for industry was a better option since that would free up more drinking water.
Prime Minister John Howard, a Sydney resident, congratulated Beattie and predicted recycled water would be introduced to Sydney in the near
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
Eeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwww...
Pass the Fosters please.
You don't buy Foster's, you merely rent it for a while.
I mean, there's only one way to recycle water, RIGHT?
Honey,did you change brands on the coffee?Something tastes a little off.....
Cue the jokes about "renting" beer...
As I understand it, most North American cities 'recycle' via primary treatment of their sewage. Settling basins settle the suspended solids out of the water, and decant the water -- usually directly into the nearest water course. This stuff is still full of bugs. (The sludge is sometimes collected and sent to be spread on unwitting farmer's fields, but that's another issue. It renders the field poisonous for growing plants for human consumption for many years to come, aside from smelling like sh**.) With secondary treatment (could be: ozone injection, aeration... a whole series of technologies have developed) the pollutants are digested by bacteria in an accelerated way. Time and biological processes are the key. The same thing happens in an ordinary septic system. To actually drink the water, you'd have to chlorinate it or do something else to kill the bugs that remain. Now, don't flame me -- I'm quoting a sanitary engineer here and am not one myself. The point is, this process may take time, and may take biochemical assistance, but it is so do-able that millions around the world should not lack the ability to recycle water when they are in an area with limited water resources. Perhaps with Australia in the vanguard, the accessibility of this technology will increase.
wifes' response "don't forget to chew ,dear."
I refer you to another article about the world's water supply:
http://www.opendemocracy.net/globalization/politics_water_thirst_4288.jsp
ALL water is recycled in some manner. We don't get it shipped in from outer space.
Well - I have heard that sewage discharge, if it meets EPA (in the US) regulations, is cleaner and more pure than most tap water....
But if I am ever in a place that uses this "recycled water", please don't tell me what I am drinking!
If you lived in Denver, you'd be hard-pressed to tell it apart from Coors Light.
Yup. Out here in the country, septic systems disperse into the ground that which is not evaporated, and the earth acts as a natural filter while the liquid returns to the water table.
I suspect that in the last 400 million years every drop of water on the planet has passed through many, many kidneys.
Every drop of water you drink and every bit of air that you breath was inside another living body at some point.
Cheerio!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.