Toilet To Tap Has Been Taking The Scenic Route All Along!
Now and then the Toilet To Tap water reclamation concept raises its yucky head again. In case you are not familiar with it, the idea is to recycle treated sewage right back into the drinking water supply. Yup - eeuuuwww, GROSS. Not to mention unsafe and unhealthy.
Don't get me wrong. I am all for water conservation and efficient use of the limited resources God has provided for us. Personally I think channeling laundry water and shower water into a big holding tank to be used for toilet flushing is a great idea, even if I did think of it myself!
But people harbor a lot of organisms and pathogens and there is just NO WAY that the treatment center can guarantee to zap and destroy each and every one, 100%, no errors. Systems break down, "bleep" happens, and the potential for disaster is not acceptable. Period. If you think Toilet To Tap is a good idea, remember that the waste treatment center handles sewage for all of the people living in the entire area ~ young, old, healthy, and with all sorts of diseases.
A recent Associated Press investigation revealed that the drinking water of at least 41 million Americans contains traces of prescription drugs, OTC medications, veterinary medications, even caffeine! We are talking antibiotics, pain killers, steroids, hormones, anti-psychotics, you name it. All that stuff advertised on TV and more! If it can be prescribed or purchased off the shelf (or maybe even on the street) "it's in there." The amounts were tiny, but the exposure is constant and long term.
The phenomenon is world-wide, so if you do not live in the USA, you are not off the hook. It might even be worse where you are. Bottled water is no safety net, either as most bottled water is just filtered and tweaked tap water. Besides, no one cooks with or bathes in bottled water, anyway.
And how did all this stuff get into the water system? People and animals swallow it or absorb it topically but don't completely metabolize it. What is "eliminated" by people is flushed into the sewer system, goes to the sewage treatment plant and after treatment is discharged into a lake, river, reservoir or ocean near you.
Animals skip the sewage treatment plant step. What they "eliminate" just seeps its way into the water "the old fashioned way."
Don't forget that you are instructed to flush any expired medications rather than put them in the trash!
Neither the sewage treatment plants nor the ground filter out the drugs completely, and they eventually make their way into our drinking water.
So it seems we have had Toilet To Tap all along, only now we can document that water has been taking the scenic route from the toilet over the river and through the woods before it gets back to the tap at Grandma's house ~ and yours.
Don't get me wrong. I am all for water conservation and efficient use of the limited resources God has provided for us. Personally I think channeling laundry water and shower water into a big holding tank to be used for toilet flushing is a great idea, even if I did think of it myself!
But people harbor a lot of organisms and pathogens and there is just NO WAY that the treatment center can guarantee to zap and destroy each and every one, 100%, no errors. Systems break down, "bleep" happens, and the potential for disaster is not acceptable. Period. If you think Toilet To Tap is a good idea, remember that the waste treatment center handles sewage for all of the people living in the entire area ~ young, old, healthy, and with all sorts of diseases.
A recent Associated Press investigation revealed that the drinking water of at least 41 million Americans contains traces of prescription drugs, OTC medications, veterinary medications, even caffeine! We are talking antibiotics, pain killers, steroids, hormones, anti-psychotics, you name it. All that stuff advertised on TV and more! If it can be prescribed or purchased off the shelf (or maybe even on the street) "it's in there." The amounts were tiny, but the exposure is constant and long term.
The phenomenon is world-wide, so if you do not live in the USA, you are not off the hook. It might even be worse where you are. Bottled water is no safety net, either as most bottled water is just filtered and tweaked tap water. Besides, no one cooks with or bathes in bottled water, anyway.
And how did all this stuff get into the water system? People and animals swallow it or absorb it topically but don't completely metabolize it. What is "eliminated" by people is flushed into the sewer system, goes to the sewage treatment plant and after treatment is discharged into a lake, river, reservoir or ocean near you.
Animals skip the sewage treatment plant step. What they "eliminate" just seeps its way into the water "the old fashioned way."
Don't forget that you are instructed to flush any expired medications rather than put them in the trash!
Neither the sewage treatment plants nor the ground filter out the drugs completely, and they eventually make their way into our drinking water.
So it seems we have had Toilet To Tap all along, only now we can document that water has been taking the scenic route from the toilet over the river and through the woods before it gets back to the tap at Grandma's house ~ and yours.
Labels: pharmaceuticals in drinking water, Toilet To Tap water reclamation
posted by Sandi @ 1:07 PM
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