蜜柚直播

The work on this is well on its way. In fact, the state Department of Environmental Quality is accepting comments for the next 30 days on the plans and standards it鈥檚 crafting for this 鈥渢oilet-to-tap鈥� water 鈥� what it prefers to call 鈥渁dvanced water purification.鈥�

If all goes according to schedule, municipal and private water companies will be able to add the treated effluent to their supplies by the end of 2024.

To see the proposal and how to comment, visit .

It鈥檚 not a question of 鈥渋f鈥欌�� but of 鈥渨hen,鈥� said Robin Silver, co-founder of the 蜜柚直播-based Center for Biological Diversity.

鈥淭he use of reclaimed effluent is inevitable in the arid Southwest, period,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not really debatable anymore.鈥欌��

More to the point, it鈥檚 already happening.

Treated effluent now is discharged onto, and in some cases injected into, the ground. Eventually, it is pumped out after there has been a natural filtering process of sorts.

The next step is to convince people it鈥檚 OK to bypass that natural recharge and go directly from sewage treatment plant back to homes, albeit with additional processing, state regulators say.

鈥淓ssentially, all this technology does is take out that environmental storage in the ground and runs this water through advanced treatment processes that actually are much more efficient at removing contaminants, pollutants, than storing in the ground is,鈥欌�� said Randy Matas, a deputy DEQ director.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no new water,鈥欌�� Matas said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all recycled water.鈥欌��

Safe for users, Hobbs says

Gov. Katie Hobbs says the rules being developed by DEQ will provide for safe water.

鈥淚 am comfortable with science and technology ensuring that what we put into our water system is safe for users,鈥欌�� she said.

Asked if she will drink recycled water from the faucets in her home, the governor responded, 鈥淵es.鈥�

And a DEQ survey conducted earlier found 70% of residents polled said they will be somewhat or very likely to drink recycled water.

Convincing all 蜜柚直播ns to accept the technology, however, will require proof that they can see, said Matas.

Scottsdale already started down that road through a demonstration project with several local breweries making beer with water they got from the city鈥檚 advanced water treatment facilities. In Scottsdale鈥檚 case, that includes not just normal purification to A+ levels 鈥� good enough to discharge into streams and for irrigation 鈥� but also other processes including reverse osmosis, membrane ultrafiltration and treatment by ultraviolet light.

The rules being written for the state won鈥檛 specify exactly what methods each community needs to incorporate, Matas said.

鈥淲hat we鈥檙e proposing in our rule is actually establishing the treatment standards and leaving it up to the utilities to assemble the specific treatment technologies and the specific order to treat to the standards,鈥欌�� he said. That will be based on the quality of the water they are starting with.

鈥淚t gives utilities and also water treatment industries the space to innovate, develop new technologies, bring those new technologies online that may increase efficiency and decrease costs as they become available,鈥欌�� Matas said.

Questions to be answered

Silver said issues remain, though.

One involves 鈥渃ompounds of emerging concern,鈥欌�� including antibiotic-resistant genetic material that is getting through the wastewater treatment process. That arose in Flagstaff a decade ago when research found genetic indicators of what could be antibiotic-resistant bacteria in both potable and reclaimed water.

Silver said these are not yet recognized as contaminants. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to need to be addressed.鈥欌��

But Matas said to the extent that鈥檚 a problem, it has nothing to do with whether 蜜柚直播 should go ahead with advanced water purification.

鈥淎ll those things are in a discharge from a traditional wastewater plant to a surface water which is then removed and treated and put into drinking water,鈥欌�� through the normal process of filtration through the ground, he said. 鈥淎ll this is doing it taking out that environmental buffer.鈥欌��

Matas said the various advanced treatment processes take out other things that now show up in water that is pumped from underground. In 蜜柚直播, that specifically includes various metals in the soil.

鈥淪o you鈥檙e getting better and more complete treatment than what you would get in the natural environment,鈥欌�� he said.

Silver agreed this isn鈥檛 specifically a problem with direct use of treated effluent versus the current processes.

鈥淣o matter where they put it in, somebody鈥檚 going to use it,鈥欌�� he said.

Still, Silver said, if the state is going down the path of direct use of treated effluent 鈥� and promoting it 鈥� there are questions that need to be answered.

鈥淲e just need to assure ourselves that as we鈥檙e learning more and more about what鈥檚 in reclaimed effluent that we are removing hormonal elements, pharmacological elements and antibiotic-resistant genetic materials,鈥欌�� he said.

Also, said Matas, 鈥淲hen you change the chemistry in the water, of course you have to consider that as far as the distribution system and corrosion control. So these are things the utility will have to consider when they鈥檙e getting their permit for advanced water purification.鈥欌��

Affordability, acceptance

Then there鈥檚 the question of how much this will add to each monthly water bill.

鈥淭he cost for consumers will vary by the utility that鈥檚 putting it in place and the amount of treatment required and the size of their customer base,鈥欌�� Matas said.

The DEQ survey about whether people are willing to accept recycled water also found that 71% listed the price tag as a concern.

The department is trying to address that with suggestions some people could save money.

鈥淚nstead of relying solely on bottled water or expensive filtration systems, you can enjoy purified water at a fraction of the cost, primarily if your local water utility provides it,鈥欌�� DEQ is saying online in its list of questions and answers.

Is DEQ saying people will be able to stop buying bottled water and can turn off their filtration systems?

鈥淲ater treated through advanced water purification not only complies with and exceeds all water quality standards but offers a flavor profile akin to purified bottled water or home reserve osmosis systems,鈥欌�� said DEQ spokeswoman Alma Suarez. Still, she said 鈥減ersonal preferences and circumstances may vary.鈥欌��

鈥淪ome people may still choose to buy bottled water or use filtration systems for convenience or specific needs,鈥欌�� Suarez said.

Matas, for his part, prefers to see the issue in broader terms.

鈥淭he cost of 蜜柚直播 running out of water which would stall development, that would stall the economy and lead to water scarcity would drastically increase cost of living for 蜜柚直播ns,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淪o, while this may increase your water bill, it may be the cheapest cost long term when we look at overall water security.鈥欌��

There鈥檚 another angle to all this that has nothing to do with water quality. It鈥檚 a question of availability.

State law says reclaimed water is the property of the entity that produces it, according to Carol Ward, an assistant director of the 蜜柚直播 Department of Water Resources. It has become more valuable, especially after the 1980 Groundwater Management Act was passed to reduce depletion.

Add to that, she said, a 1986 law that prohibits the filling of large bodies of water for landscape, scenic or recreational purposes. That increased the demand for treated effluent 鈥� the same effluent that communities are now being urged to recycle into drinking water.

鈥淎s water becomes more expensive and supplies are more limited, that will continue to shift how water is used,鈥欌�� Ward said. That will force local officials to make some decisions about the best use of the water 鈥� and whether processing it for drinking makes economic and environmental sense.

One of those decisions will occur in 蜜柚直播. The 蜜柚直播 City Council went on record last month supporting the treatment of wastewater for drinking in the future. That puts the city in line with several other Southwestern cities that are looking at and, in some cases, already treating wastewater to drink.