June 2008

U.S. Water News Online

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Clearwater residents could someday be drinking treated wastewater.

City officials are looking to meet the ever-increasing demand for drinking water with purified wastewater. They say recycling wastewater would take pressure off the aquifer, cut the amount of wastewater running into local waters and eventually trim water bills.

Clearwater's plan is to treat the wastewater, and then pipe it into the ground to recharge the aquifer. That's where most communities in the state get their drinking water.

While the permitting process alone takes about five years, the most difficult part of the change could be convincing residents that it's safe. So at a public meeting in the next few months, Clearwater's city manager and mayor plan to drink water from a community that is already using purified wastewater.

"We're going to have to drink a glass to demonstrate the credibility to our discussions," City Manager Bill Horne told the St. Petersburg Times.

Recycling wastewater is nothing new in Florida. Many communities have been using reclaimed water for crops and lawns for decades. But, recognizing the difference between giving treated wastewater to plants and giving it to people, city officials have engineers looking at other areas that have already started using the relatively new technology.

In California, Orange County has become one of the first places in the country to treat wastewater to a level fit for human consumption. The county opened the world's largest water-purification project in January. It's a $500-million plant that serves about a half-million residents. The county plans to double the plants capacity next year.

To turn wastewater into drinking water, lightly treated wastewater is processed through a microfilter to remove any solids or bacteria. The water is treated again to remove any viruses, drugs or contaminants. Ultra-violet light and hydrogen peroxide are used to remove anything else. The water is then pumped into the ground, and it takes about six months to reach residents.

Clearwater has the equipment to upgrade wastewater to drinking water but needs at least four injection wells to get the treated water to the aquifer, said Robert Fahey, the city's utilities engineering manager. Each well could cost as much as $1 million.

Not everyone is sold on the change. Critics claim the process is too vulnerable to human error, and dangerous contaminants could pass through the filtration process.

Thomas W. Reese, a St. Petersburg attorney who specializes in environmental law and water issues, cited a 1998 report from the nonprofit group National Research Council that said recycling wastewater should be a last option.