Toxic water remains a primary cause of child and infant mortality, and by 2005, an approximated 1.8 billion population will be residing in areas with total water shortage. With massive water scarcity and waste management difficulties, numerous groups and organizations have come up with innovations to locally and cheaply convert sewage into clean water sources for drinking or irrigation. In the United States, billions of dollars are spent in treating contaminated water with high-quality drinking water. Therefore, the increasing use recycled wastewater for drinking, landscaping, toilet flushing and irrigation is a good concept to sustain and conserve freshwater resources. Treated water is similarly used to replace sensitive ecosystems in which fish, plants, and wildlife are left susceptible when water is diverted from rural and urban purposes. In coastal regions, recycled water aids restore groundwater to inhibit intrusion of saltwater that happens when groundwater is pumped.
The utilization of recycled water as a drinking source, nevertheless, is less common, principally because numerous people are warded off by the assumption that water that has been in toilet taps going to taps. But some countries like Namibia, Singapore, and Australia, and states like New Mexico, California, and Virginia are now drinking recycled water, proving purified wastewater may be clean and safe, and help reduce water scarcities (King and Rothman 123).
The expression “toilet to tap,” (as cited in Djouider 2012, p 62)applied to mobilize opposition to drinking recycle water, is ambiguous since recycled that result in drinking water goes through extensive and systematic purification. As well, it is commonly added to surface water or groundwater for advance cleansing before being directed to a drinking water source where it is once more treated. It has been demonstrated to contain fewer contaminants that readily available treated water suppliers (Khater 45).
There are several technologies employed to recycle water, relying on how pure it should be and what it is intended for. Below is how toxic water is treated at the San Diego, the city is presently reviewing the feasibility of recycling wastewater for drinking (Postawa 13).
Sustainable Treatment and Reuse of Toxic Water
Sewage initially undergoes radical primary treatment where water is removed from large particles, then passes sedimentation tanks in which chemicals are added to facilitate primary sludge settlement to the bottom while scum rise to the top. After the separation of water, about 80% of the solids have been eliminated, and the wastewater is clean enough ready to be discharged to the ocean. (Even though water is possibly valued resource, most wastewaters produced along the coasts culminates in the sea) (Duricova 218).
During secondary treatment, bacteria are placed in the wastewater to help ingest organic solids, yielding secondary sludge which settles to the base. Tertiary treatment sieves the water to eliminate solids residue, disinfect it using chlorine, and get rid of the salt. In California, tertiary-treated water is referred as “recycled water” and may be utilized for industry or irrigation (Postawa 29).
For Indirect Potable Reuse (IPR), treated water that ultimately turns to drinking water, tertiary recycled water goes through advanced technology, after that, spend time in surface or groundwater, for example, reservoir, before being distributed to drinking water sources (Khater 91)
. The advanced technology initially entails microfiltration that removes any solids remaining. Then, reverse osmosis, which exerts pressure to water one lateral of a membrane letting pure water infiltrate through, eliminate pharmaceuticals, protozoa, viruses, and bacteria. The water is later disinfected with hydrogen peroxide and ultraviolet light. Lastly, it is added to surface water or groundwater reservoirs wherein it stays for a total of 6 months to be more purified by natural occurrences. This is done largely done to moderate public concern about drinking recycled water. After it is drawn from the reservoir or groundwater, the recycle water undergoes the standard water purification process any drinking water go through to comply with United States Environmental Protection Agency Standards (Duricova 249).
Uniqueness of Turning Toxic Water to Clean Water
Water utilities worldwide are under persistent pressure to battle water shortage problems contributed to severe drought, unequal distribution of water resources and populace growth. Only two alternatives are available, one to decrease the water demand and another one is to augment the water source. Having exploited available existing water resources and exploited all the potential water demand and conservation management, several cities in the world have continued to consider the reclaimed toxic water as a resource not be lost. This has become likelihood because of the innovation and setting up state-of-the-art technologies with several obstructions remove the trace organic toxins that could exist in the tertiary treatment effluent (Khater 104).
Apart from the effective as a way for municipalities to supplement their surging stressed water resources, reuse may provide some benefits. Reuse is growing in Pacific Northwest due to the decade-old temperature limitations enforced by state organizations on water treatment plant releases to rivers (Djouider 117). Water reuse may reduce the volume of fresh water taped from the endangered ecosystem, in addition to the quantity of toxic water, and the pollution it conveys discharged to watercourses. In the case of non-portable reuse, it implies avoiding utilization of valuable portable water in which that extent of quality is not needed.
New View on using Treated Toxic Water
Freshwater resources shortage is increasing at an alarming rate, which has called for utilities globally to take into account reclaimed water as a source than toxic for sustainable water management. The advanced technologies with various barriers have made it probable to improve water resources with reclaimed water by eliminating toxins/contaminants. Taking into account the diverse unplanned potable reuse going on in the world and subsequent negative thinking or anxieties regarding the prevalence of recently arising contaminants on the water surface, many wastewater uses will finally have to upgrade their treatment plants for wastewater (Khater 122)
There are multiple cases of communities performing the unplanned indirect potable reuse unsuspectingly. Tertiary treated toxic water and at times agricultural and industrial wastes are discharged to water reserves from where following values extract water for potable uses. The groundwater or surface water has a natural assimilative capability to clean out the contamination released into them. Nevertheless, their limits have depleted during the past ten years or so as a result of increased loading released having synthetic chemicals (King et al. 188).
Planned indirect portable reclaim aims to eliminate these toxins in the tertiary waste using innovative technologies with several barrier releasing them into water bodies to increase water source downstream. Taking into consideration the fact that multiple traditional supplies of fresh water become limited and more toxic but emerging advanced state-of-the-art technologies present can be used to eliminate the toxins, planned indirect reuse may be a reliable solution for sustainable water supplies management. This has been portrayed in that several utilities all over the world have either been planning or by now implementing the innovative reclaim systems (Djouider 126).
The unregulated disposal to the environment of the city, agricultural and industrial gaseous, liquid and solid waste remains the most severe threats to the sustainability of human development by polluting the water and by causing global warming. Recycling these toxic water increases water productivity. Through unlinking utilizations from withdrawals, it reduces the frequency of uses of a given amount of original resource (Postawa 78).
With rising population and economic growth, reuse and disposal of toxic water are crucial to reduce the unbearable extent of environmental degradation and preserve the public health. As well, competent wastewater management is similarly required for avoiding contamination of water resources purposely for maintaining supplies of clean water 135.
According to King et al. (2011) studies, active toxic water management is appropriately set up in developed nations but is till restrained in developing nations. In many developing countries, most people do not have access to sanitation and water services. Collection and carriage of wastewater out urban environs is not yet a service offered to all citizens, and adequate treatment is offered only in a small fraction of the collected toxic water. Wastewater reclaim allows towns to escape low arithmetic of water. In a moment when several countries are reviving the benefits of energy self-reliance, it is perchance no bad thing to evoke the benefits of water self-reliant.
Work Cited
Djouider, Fathi. "Radiolytic Formation of Non-toxic Cr(III) from Toxic Cr(VI) in Formate Containing Aqueous Solutions: A System for Water Treatment." Journal of Hazardous Materials 223-224 (2012): 104-09. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.
Duricova, Anna. "Distribution Of The Toxic Metals Within System Water Sludge In The Biological Water Treatment Plant." 14th SGEM GeoConference on Ecology, Economics, Education & Legislation (2014). Web. 10 Mar. 2016.
Khater, Ashraf E. M. "Toxic Elements Fractionation during Underground Water Purification Processes: Concentration and Environmental Impacts." Journal of Waste Water Treatment & Analysis Hydrol Current Res S2.01 (2013). Web. 10 Mar. 2016.
King, Jonathan, and Matt Rothman. Troubled Water: The Pollution of America's Drinking Water--how State and Industry Let It to Happen, and What You May Do to Ensure a Safe Source in the Home. Emmaus, PA: Rodale, 2011. Print.
Postawa, Adam. Best Practice Guide on Sampling and Controlling of Metals in Drinking Water. London: IWA Pub., 2012. Print.
