Sewage treatment plants, to many people, are simply places that we don't want to drive by because of the smell that often times emanates from them. We know what goes on there and want nothing to do with it. However, in times of drought, sewage treatment plants are getting outfitted with new technology to make the treated water coming out of them safer and more usable by the general population. One state in particular is taking the lead in re-using this treated water from sewage plants. This state is Texas, currently dealing with the third worst drought in recorded history, as of now having lasted ten long months. While treated waste water has long been re-used in this state, the amount being re-used versus using fresh water is approaching 14%. This is significant considering that the population is continually growing while reservoirs are diminishing at an alarming rate. Currently, most of the treated waste water is going to parks and golf courses to water the grass while some is even making into water features such as fountains in various cities. So what is the difference between a normal sewage treatment plant simply dumping the treated water into rivers versus the newer ones directly funneling the water to specific places for direct use? Well, under normal circumstances when the water is dumped directly into waterways, there is greater loss due to evaporation and absorption into the surrounding soil. This in and of itself provides for an enormous loss of water. By directly funneling the treated water to golf courses and parks, very little water is wasted along the way and it is actually cheaper to buy than fresh water from aquifers or reservoirs. New technology is also making the water much safer than it has been in the past. The biggest part of the new technology is the use of ultraviolet light to kill bacteria and micro-organisms that are normally harmful. Conventional plants use chlorine to neutralize the bacteria, however, in large doses, chlorine is harmful as well.
So where is this technology headed? Eventually, all treated waste water would be re-used in entirety, not just for watering golf courses and parks, but for use by humans in daily life. With the planet warming, populations growing, and available water diminishing at alarming rates, it has become almost necessary for the general public to overcome their qualms about using treated waste water in everyday life. Obviously many of us would still have reservations about actually drinking it, but if we could use treated water to flush toilets, take showers with, and use it generally around the house, we would be saving fresh water and extending our ability to use it in the future. Most of the states currently utilizing treated waste water to its fullest extent are in the South and have become accustomed to droughts and lack of fresh water. They have begun to realize that if they don't find new ways to treat the water and re-use it in even greater ways, they will be facing larger problems in the future. Even so, we in the United States are not suffering as badly as people in other countries. Take some of the countries in Africa or the Middle East that now need to truck in fresh water into their cities because there is no available fresh water for them to use. New technology provided to them to treat waste water and re-use it would be nothing but beneficial. There needs to be a global effort to provide this technology to as many countries as possible. If countries drain their aquifers and reservoirs and are unable to truck in fresh water, populations will eventually be forced to move elsewhere, there will be no other choice. If populations are forced to move, it will increase the amount of conflicts that we will need to deal with. Without fresh water, we can not survive. By treating waste water more effectively and re-using it to the fullest potential, we can essentially extend the life of desert cities and allow populations to slowly find new ways of dealing with less water. This, however, depends greatly upon the generosity of wealthier nations and a desire in general to help those in need.
There have already been riots across the world due to food shortages. Water, as we all know is needed to grow food and as such, we need to be able to provide that water in order to sustain the world's food supply. We will sink into a vicious downward spiral if we do not address this fundamental shortage we are experiencing now. People can talk about food shortages and providing food to other countries, but if we do not have water to grow the food, none of that can happen. Steps need to be taken now both to curb our water usage and increase our ability to re-use water from treatment plants. The technology is there, we just need to make it available to more people and countries. For those of us in areas that are not suffering from water shortages, we should make the effort now to curb water usage and preserve as much as we can for the future. If we put the technology in place now across all countries to re-use water to its maximum, we can buy ourselves time while preserving what fresh water we have left. This fresh water will not last forever at our current rate of consumption and also the current rate at which we are diminishing our water reserves. But I fear that many people will simply write this off as irrelevant until everyone is suffering from water shortages. Today, lets all try to use a little less water, whether it be in the shower, washing dishes, or simply watering our yards and gardens. It can not just be a few people who make the effort, however, it must be our population as a whole. We shall see how that goes.
No comments:
Post a Comment