recycled water

[tcprowling]

Would you use recycled water?

 

[James the Persian]

Would you use recycled water?

Surely everyone already does?

James

 

[michel]

Would you use recycled water?

Yes, except for the preparation of food.

In Gibraltar, water is so scarce that every home has three taps; hot, cold, and sea water. People use the sea water as much as they can; the fresh water used to have to be shipped in.

 

[anders]

Surely everyone already does?

Yes, indeed! I'm too lazy to rehearse the calculations, but it was interesting to estimate how many water molecules in any modern person that once were a part of Cleopatra.

I think we learned about how water circulated in third or fourth grade - travelling to the oceans in many different ways, evaporating, returning as rain. That's recycling to me.

 

[sparc872]

Yes, we all use water that has been in other places before. The problem is, at least here in the US, aquifers are being depleted at a rate that far out paces their replenishment. Using recycled water, processed out of the natural cycle rather than pulling more of it from underground would be extremely beneficial. I would use recycled water in a heartbeat.

They make toilets that flush using grey water, which is basically recycled water coming from your shower.

There is also research being done into using bacteria to breakdown human waste and generate hydrogen, which could then by put through a fuel cell, producing pure water and energy. The only drawback I see after reading that is that it appears to produce CO2 in the process, a compound that we most certainly do not need more of.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Considering thier is always the same amount of water on Earth, we are already using recycled water.

 

[evearael]

I would use recycled water.

 

[Fluffy]

Yes, except for the preparation of food.

Surely recycled water must be used in the preparation of food as well?

tcprowling, do you mean things like sharing baths, collecting dish water for gardening etc?

 

[anders]

Yes, we all use water that has been in other places before. The problem is, at least here in the US, aquifers are being depleted at a rate that far out paces their replenishment. Using recycled water, processed out of the natural cycle rather than pulling more of it from underground would be extremely beneficial. [...] They make toilets that flush using grey water, which is basically recycled water coming from your shower.

It seems that I posted too quickly. It didn't occur to me that not everybody has unlimited access to perfectly pure water. And yet, I've seen the signs in Mexico warning even the locals to use only bottled water, and I acquired an intestinal problem in India.

In spite of my thus demonstrated stupidity, I'm for several reasons interested in water treatment and supply. I now got over a quarter of a million hits for "recycled water", so if any of you can help me reduce the number in a meaningful way, I would be grateful.

 

[tcprowling]

Surely recycled water must be used in the preparation of food as well?

tcprowling, do you mean things like sharing baths, collecting dish water for gardening etc?

I understood the recycle water was water used in treatment plants that is re purefied and put inti general service,
Bath water, etc I understand to be what is known as Grey water and while it is recycled water Is a separate issue all together
http://www.sydneywater.com.au/SavingWater/GreyWater/
TC

 

[kateyes]

This seems like a good idea to me--in reading the article it didn't seem like they were advocating using it for drinking or food prep but more for yard watering. I live in a rural area and we have a well. We tend to try to conserve water where ever possible because it is a major pain if your well goes dry (Not necessarily by bathing together, but not leaving water running, using water saver toilets, etc). We live by a canal that runs between 2 lakes so we water our yard and gardens from the canal. (The lakes are spring fed)--it seems to me like it would be good to be able to have your greywater processed for use in the yard.

 

[ladyhawke]

Slightly off topic but some thoughts on our water;

How is it that oxygen and hydrogen –two very light gases-combine to form water?
As the temperature outside rises and our two year drought in the uk makes its mark on our water supply, it’s a good time to learn more about our vital life source .If water behaved normally it would be a gas. It shouldn’t really exist under earths conditions, yet not only does water exist it is the medium which all life is made possible, without water its all chemistry add water and you get biology. Not only should water not exist as we now it ,but it boils at a much higher temperature than its supposed to. When water freezes it becomes lighter instead of heavier, like other substances. This strange property keeps rivers from freezing solid in winter and keeps ice cubes afloat in your summer cocktail. To take water for granted is to take life for granted .the average human body is made up of 70% water. our blood is 96%water our muscles70% .When dehydrated it becomes harder to move oxygen and nutrients around our body. If we go 3 days without water we will most likely die. And yet we have become accustomed to flushing this resource down the loo.Its now widely accepted that water is is the resource that will dominate the next century. The world bank already refers to water as Blue Gold. So what can we do to protect the earths water, firstly I think we need to understand more about it. Water cannot escape our atmosphere and therefore exists in a closed cycle of precipitation and evaporation. Ours is the same water that the dinosaurs were drinking millions of yrs ago. If we choose to flush chemicals down our drains and pour them over our fields then that is what we have raining down on us and filling our rivers. In the UK we are blessed to have water flowing freely into our homes but did you know that our tap water is more regulated than bottled water(makes you think about that bottle of evian/naive…doesn’t it).The mistake we have made is to put water into plastic bottles and fly it from France or wherever to the the UK .Packaging water and turning it into a commodity is contributing to climate change IMHO.A leaky tap that that lose a drop per second loses 16 bathtubs full a month. If we want abundant healthful water and to stop climate change we need to get clean. We do this when we buy local organic produce when we use biodegradable household products and we walk wherever possible instead of driving, when we get our water from the tap instead of unhealthy plastic bottles, and don’t worry about whether you should have reverse osmosis filter ,you shouldn’t they waste a huge amount of Blue Gold if you want a filter fitted get a simple one plumbed in, if you want to buy bottled water buy it in glass bottles far healthier and easier to recycle…we owe it to future generations to make this earth as good as it can possibly be and WE NEED TO START NOW..

 

[tcprowling]

Ladyhawke what can one say but a bloody excellant post:bow: :clap

 

[ladyhawke]

Ladyhawke what can one say but a bloody excellant post:bow: :clap

thank you tc :rainbow1:

 

[Booko]

This seems like a good idea to me--in reading the article it didn't seem like they were advocating using it for drinking or food prep but more for yard watering. I live in a rural area and we have a well. We tend to try to conserve water where ever possible because it is a major pain if your well goes dry (Not necessarily by bathing together, but not leaving water running, using water saver toilets, etc). We live by a canal that runs between 2 lakes so we water our yard and gardens from the canal. (The lakes are spring fed)--it seems to me like it would be good to be able to have your greywater processed for use in the yard.

I've used grey water in my landscape for years now, esp. in times of watering restrictions like this. Mostly I minimize the need for water in the first place by how I manage my landscape, but that's an entirely different thread.

We have watering restrictions in Atlanta right now, but there are very few of my plants that cannot withstand long periods of rain. For those that are not established or the very few water-hungry ones, there are many things you can do to water them without wasting any water. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Boiling potatoes or pasta? Save the water and use it on plants when cooled.

2. If you are able, you can get a washing machine with the "save suds" option. I don't save suds, as the salts in the soap eventually build up in the soil. I do save the rinse water, though, and use that.

3. Put a bucket in the shower with you, and use the water that would otherwise go down the drain.

4. Washing dishes in the sink? It always takes less water to rinse if you use a rubbermaid container for rinse water. When you're done, there's not that much soap in the water. Use that gallon of water outside.

Want to really conserve water in your house? Do *not* use a garbage disposal. They're real water hogs, but we usually don't think about them.

When I do water in the yard, I use a drip irrigation system that is cheap, easy to install, and uses very little water, and what it does use actually goes to the plants. Sprinklers are a great waste of water -- 80-90% of that water is wasted to evaporation, esp. if you're watering during daylight hours.

 

[Booko]

Slightly off topic but some thoughts on our water;

How is it that oxygen and hydrogen –two very light gases-combine to form water?
As the temperature outside rises and our two year drought in the uk makes its mark on our water supply, it’s a good time to learn more about our vital life source .If water behaved normally it would be a gas. It shouldn’t really exist under earths conditions, yet not only does water exist it is the medium which all life is made possible, without water its all chemistry add water and you get biology. Not only should water not exist as we now it ,but it boils at a much higher temperature than its supposed to. When water freezes it becomes lighter instead of heavier, like other substances. This strange property keeps rivers from freezing solid in winter and keeps ice cubes afloat in your summer cocktail. To take water for granted is to take life for granted .the average human body is made up of 70% water. our blood is 96%water our muscles70% .When dehydrated it becomes harder to move oxygen and nutrients around our body. If we go 3 days without water we will most likely die. And yet we have become accustomed to flushing this resource down the loo.Its now widely accepted that water is is the resource that will dominate the next century. The world bank already refers to water as Blue Gold. So what can we do to protect the earths water, firstly I think we need to understand more about it. Water cannot escape our atmosphere and therefore exists in a closed cycle of precipitation and evaporation. Ours is the same water that the dinosaurs were drinking millions of yrs ago. If we choose to flush chemicals down our drains and pour them over our fields then that is what we have raining down on us and filling our rivers. In the UK we are blessed to have water flowing freely into our homes but did you know that our tap water is more regulated than bottled water(makes you think about that bottle of evian/naive…doesn’t it).The mistake we have made is to put water into plastic bottles and fly it from France or wherever to the the UK .Packaging water and turning it into a commodity is contributing to climate change IMHO.A leaky tap that that lose a drop per second loses 16 bathtubs full a month. If we want abundant healthful water and to stop climate change we need to get clean. We do this when we buy local organic produce when we use biodegradable household products and we walk wherever possible instead of driving, when we get our water from the tap instead of unhealthy plastic bottles, and don’t worry about whether you should have reverse osmosis filter ,you shouldn’t they waste a huge amount of Blue Gold if you want a filter fitted get a simple one plumbed in, if you want to buy bottled water buy it in glass bottles far healthier and easier to recycle…we owe it to future generations to make this earth as good as it can possibly be and WE NEED TO START NOW..

:yes:

(A small note on tap water. If you want it to taste better, just let it sit out 24 hours. One of the worst things in it is the chlorine, and it will bubble out. I "age" water this way before I use it on houseplants and the like.)

 

[tcprowling]

Booko,
I've thought about this
Put a bucket in the shower with you, and use the water that would otherwise go down the drain.
But at my age, anything that puts me at risk of kicking the bucket has me greatly concerned. LOL