Bad news & good news.
Our tap never ran dry when we went to Palm Desert and Scottsdale this past summer.
That's not in the future, that is now.
Same people, different thread. They are just scared of anything new or different. A common theme among the tin foil hat crowd. They will scour the interwebs for things that they think support their backward beliefs and post them. And the beat goes on...
Our toilet water is treated to nearly drinkable standards then piped miles out in the ocean. Not put in rivers or aquifers.
How is that really any better? Doesn't it cause dilution of the saltwater in the places it is released? Putting it back into the aquifer is probably the best route to take. The main issue with water treatment isn't the resulting clean water, but rather the yucky stuff (sludge) that comes out of it.
My post was responding to the claim that everyone downhill is drinking other's upstream sewage.
But the vastness is of the entire ocean. The water being returned is just in a small area. At some point it will disperse, but it could still have a negative effect on the ecosystem right where it is released. Just like warm water coming out of power plants into the ocean. The ecosystem there is far different than it would be if the water wasn't released at all. Rainwater also returns to the ocean as both rain and runoff. Taking water from the aquifer and returning it to the ocean doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.
No it is almost instantly absorbed. Maybe right as the pipe empties in a very very small area. It is meaningless. Think of giant rivers pouring magnitudes of fresh water into oceans. Salinity is only marginally affected near the coast. The wastewater is tiny in comparison.
Still seems unnecessary if they are taking the drinking water from the aquifer and then dumping it back into the ocean. Why not put it back into the aquifer?
The voters say, 'Here, take my money and process my wastewater to dump in the river, so that it will flow ultimately to an ocean, where it will deposit whatever in it isn't H2O and that will be evaporated and fall in rain upstream of somebody else.' But heaven forbid we should simply inject it back into the aquifer(s) untreated- THAT wouldn't be kosher.
In San Diego, don't they reuse the outflow water from the sewage treatment plants for irrigation and to keep golf courses green?
The reason is: All it takes is a mechanical failure at the processing facility and you have contaminated an aquifer FOREVER! Aquifers recharge by filtering water naturally through layers of soil and rock. If you were to accidentally contaminate with bacteria, viruses or chemicals you could never clear it.
Yes there are recycled water programs for irrigation uses. I believe they are also working on an actual reclaimed water project, but I am unaware of any approvals to directly pump such water into aquifers ( I'm not sure if CA regulations allow this.). There is also an extensive desalination project in north county.
I know that there is a recycled water program for irrigation uses in the City of SD. I know there is an extensive desalination project in north county. I know no agency in San Diego is pumping treated affluent into aquifers.In other words, you don't know.
Bill
