Pillar to Post: Peter Welander's Blog 
Recent Posts
- Clean coal in eastern Germany
- Emerson: Watching the ceremony
- Your own home fuel cell plant
- Death of the typewriter (man)
- Living: How green is green enough?
- ISA Expo: Show must go on
- Re-branding a legacy
- Back to the "smart grid"
- Learning to live with change
- Back to $100 oil?
Recent Comments
- Bryan St.Martin on Clean coal in eastern Germany
- Sandor Fule, Hungary on I am not a socialist
- Sandor Fule, Hungary on Economics of not driving to work
- Nico on Making gasoline out of coal
- Mark Hoske, Control Engineering on Learning to live with change
Most Commented On
- I am not a socialist (3)
- Chinese pharma plants go un-inspected? (2)
- Making gasoline out of coal (2)
- Clean coal in eastern Germany (1)
- Economics of not driving to work (1)
Archives
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
Blog
Link This | Email this | Blog This | Comments (1)
Potable or sewage: It's all water?
Orange County, CA, is embarking on an interesting and certainly worthwhile experiment. According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, the city of Newport Beach is now trying to return treated sewage back into the local aquifer rather then letting it run into the ocean. This isn't just any treated sewage. It's treated once in the usual way and then treated again to a process of micro filtration, reverse osmosis and finally sterilization with hydrogen peroxide and UV light. (Newport Beach is also home to the Bluth family.)
As it leaves the plant, the water exceeds all federal and state standards for drinking water. There is no odor or taste at all. While it could be put right back into the system at that point, the city puts it into a holding area where it percolates back into the aquifer, a process that takes months. The quality of the treated sewage is probably much better than rain water that gets into the aquifer system the same way. There are places in the world where water is scarcer still that send the wastewater back into the fresh supply pipe to pipe and it works.
There are other cities in the U.S. particularly in the south-west, and around the world where this technology is being deployed. Given the rapidly growing importance of water management in an increasingly climate conscious world, this certainly makes sense.
What we need now is a way to bottle the water and sell it. All it will take is a catchy name. How about: California Streamin'? Other ideas?
Potable or sewage: It's all water?
March 3, 2008
Orange County, CA, is embarking on an interesting and certainly worthwhile experiment. According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, the city of Newport Beach is now trying to return treated sewage back into the local aquifer rather then letting it run into the ocean. This isn't just any treated sewage. It's treated once in the usual way and then treated again to a process of micro filtration, reverse osmosis and finally sterilization with hydrogen peroxide and UV light. (Newport Beach is also home to the Bluth family.)As it leaves the plant, the water exceeds all federal and state standards for drinking water. There is no odor or taste at all. While it could be put right back into the system at that point, the city puts it into a holding area where it percolates back into the aquifer, a process that takes months. The quality of the treated sewage is probably much better than rain water that gets into the aquifer system the same way. There are places in the world where water is scarcer still that send the wastewater back into the fresh supply pipe to pipe and it works.
There are other cities in the U.S. particularly in the south-west, and around the world where this technology is being deployed. Given the rapidly growing importance of water management in an increasingly climate conscious world, this certainly makes sense.
What we need now is a way to bottle the water and sell it. All it will take is a catchy name. How about: California Streamin'? Other ideas?
Posted by Peter Welander on March 3, 2008 | Comments (1)
March 4, 2008
In response to: Potable or sewage: It's all water?
Mark commented:
In response to: Potable or sewage: It's all water?
Mark commented:
Readers may have seen demonstrations where the proud owner (or technology supplier) for such a plant has sipped from a clear glass of water (output), proving the purity. I'm sure it's just fine, but I think I'd prefer mine with lemon, thanks.
Advertisement
Advertisements
