> finding that while 49% were willing to try recycled wastewater, 13% refused, and the rest weren't sure.<p>This is the end result of an education system that has not prepared people for the modern world, if we engineer a solution that produces water of a purity greater than water from a reservoir and and half of people are still not sure it is safe to drink then we have a massive problem.<p>For the record: I've no issue with grey water recovery systems, every drop of water I've ever drank has been through at least a few fish in it's time.
I went to the BBC story kindly submitted here to read it. At the BBC story that opens this thread, I see a linked BBC story "Solving a Space Station's Toilet-Shaped Problem"[1] describing how difficult it has been to do water recycling on the International Space Station, where the extreme cost of transporting more water up into near earth orbit would provide a powerful incentive to develop technology to recycle water. Being in free fall in the limited space (and isolation from earth's ecosystem) of the space station provides its own tough engineering challenges, but evidently even rocket scientists haven't completely figured out how to do toilet-to-tap water recycling in all needed cases.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150527-solving-a-space-stations-toilet-shaped-problem" rel="nofollow">http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150527-solving-a-space-sta...</a>
In a way I do. I drink water that comes from a lake that about 1 million people poops into... On the other hand, it's a big lake.<p>I'm lucky in one way to live in Sweden where there is virtually unlimited fresh water (except in a few places). On the other hand, it doesn't stop people from trying to save water, for no particular reason at all, other than some general climate angst. Water is really cheap - somwhere around 1 EUR per m3, and there are no big lawns that needs water. (And if they do, and it's large, you probably have a lake or a stream within pumping distance nearby.)<p>It's a bit counterproductive. Old sewer pipes are clogging up because of modern toilets that use very little water, and dishwashers and washing machines should probably be set up to use ten times more water in cold pre-cycles and while rinsing, to be able to save a bit on the warm cycles.<p>I can add that we probably have one of the best waste treatment facilities in world, so the total volume through the system is more or less irrelevant, except some marginal costs for chemicals and pumping.<p>But no. EU mandates that saving water is important...<p>The utility companies are now forced to increase the water rates- typically the fixed component, since the total used volume- and their budget- is shrinking.
Sounds like this needs a brand change. "Recycled" kind of implies that there is still something "left behind".<p>Why not call it BluWater or something simple and marketing-like? Follow up with some blah text like "BluWater is the freshest and cleanest water humanity has ever drank! You can get it straight from the taps!"
Wouldn't most tap water in the US fit under this definition? My father used to work at a waste water treatment facility. At one end of the plant was all of the raw sewage that came in from the city, at the other end, it had been cleaned and purified to the point you could swim in it and probably be OK drinking from it. I know that from there they didn't just dump the water back into the local rivers and ponds, it went back to the water treatment facility not too far away where it found its way back into homes.
Most tap water in Germany is "recycled" water. I think this goes for most of Europe?
Drinking tap water and adding your on carbonate is even a thing here (German use the word as synonym for carbonated water).
"If anything, recycled wastewater is relatively sweet" - Said no tap water drinker ever
There are still worlds between the US and Europe..
There would be no shortage of water if it was priced correctly. Instead, nonsensical "water rights" contribute to less-than-optimal uses (like growing rice in the California desert, or water-hogging almond trees) and shortages for those who need it.
Weird article.<p>It talks about why toilet-to-tap is technically feasible, but not (specifically) why we "need" to adopt it, let alone whether it's inevitable. In Perth, or anywhere else. (Yes, it mentions general factors. But at no point does it make a logical case to support what it says in its headline).<p>BTW, a prediction: in the same way that corporations have strenuously (and in some cases, successfully) lobbied for prohibitions on labeling GMO-derived foods as such, or rGBH-derived milk as such -- one day we'll equal if not more energy put into efforts against against labeling toilet-derived drinking water as... exactly what it is.<p>And I'm sure one day, these efforts will ultimately succeed, also.
The article mentions mass desalination, but it doesn't actually go into how impractical it is compared to recycling wastewater.<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/world/asia/11water.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/world/asia/11water.html</a>
Well cities have a somewhat captive market - if they pump it to your house, you'll either use it or pay extra for bottles, and at the least you won't shower or flush your toilet with bottled water.
It is pouring with rain outside; as it often does in every part of the UK where the BBC are based. It may be that in some parts of the world people do need to start drinking each others urine; but unless the climate changes here; I think we can probably stick with the stuff that falls out of the sky.
Singapore has invested a lot of tech into this as the Malaysia keeps fucking with their water supply.
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEWater" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEWater</a>
Everyone who lives downstream of a water treatment plant is already drinking (diluted) recycled wastewater. Most of the liquid water on the planet has already passed through a human body countless times. It's all recycled. This is not news.
Hm, how about reversing "toilet-to-tap" into "tap-to-toilet"? I guess its too complicated to flush toilet with water from shower or dishes.