Driving in this morning, a report on NPR about a water reclamation project in West Texas caught my attention, since I had recently returned from a road trip to the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex where my wife and I attended a niece’s wedding.
Another addition along the route is the electronic road signs to direct cars and trucks into the correct lanes and warn drivers of approaching road construction and traffic issues. Most cities, including Phoenix and Tucson, have deployed them over the years, and you see a few along remote stretches of highway. But beginning near the West Texas city of Odessa, a new e-message began to appear on the e-signs. The message was, “Extreme Drought Conditions Conserve Water.” The reminder to conserve water appeared repeatedly along the road into Ft. Worth and Dallas.
The State of Texas, like the entirety of the desert Southwest has been experiencing drought and potential, localized water shortages. For the communities in West Texas, potential water shortages is an imminent concern as entire reservoirs that supply cities with water are on the verge of completely drying-up. So, the Colorado Municipal Water District in West Texas decided to do something about its water supply problem.
Last month, the District broke ground on a $13 million water reclamation plant that will convert wastewater, i.e. sewage, into drinking water at a rate of 2 million gallons per day. The plant, located in Big Spring, will provide water to the communities of Midland, Odessa, Stanton, and Big Spring. While the thought of drinking treated, or purified, wastewater might be off-putting, in places with few or no alternatives, it’s a logical choice. The city manager of Big Spring summed it up this way, “Any water is good water, as far as I’m concerned.”
While this project is the first in Texas to turn sewage into potable water, other plants have been in place throughout the world and in the United States.
Here in Arizona, water supply is a mixed bag, and we’re accustomed to using recycled water to irrigate golf courses and other landscapes. Most of central Arizona, including the Phoenix area, has sufficient water supply to meet our needs through the middle of this century. Other areas, like Coconino, Yavapai, and Gila counties have more immediate needs. But “toilet-to-tap” has not yet been addressed as an acceptable alternative to meet our future drinking water needs.
Arizona’s supply of adequate and safe drinking water will control its ability to grow its economy, expand its population and workforce, and provide its citizens with the high quality of life we have all come to expect. Turning to recycled water as an alternative could offer a solution to our water needs in the future.
And, here’s something I didn’t know:
“Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have been drinking recycled urine and sweat since 2009 – and consistently given the water good reviews.”
Unseemly and unthinkable, but it works.
To read more:
Texas Water Recycling: From Toilet to Tap
From Toilet to Tap: How We Get Tap Water From Sewage/Arizona News from USA Today
Getting Water-Affluent from use of Effluent / Tucson Citizen
