About Recycled Water

The first phase, or primary treatment, begins when the wastewater reaches the sewage treatment plant. During this phase, solids are removed from the water. The water then undergoes secondary treatment where tiny dirt-loving microorganisms are added.

These microorganisms, found naturally in rivers and other bodies of water, eat particles that are too small to see or too light to settle. Once these organisms get full and heavy, they fall to the bottom leaving cleaner water to rise to the surface. Then, during tertiary treatment, the water goes through a filtration process where the water moves through layers of fine anthracite coal, sand and gravel which trap microscopic particles.

The man-made filtration process simulates natural underground seepage occurring in aquifers. In addition, disinfectants such as chlorine are added to kill germs. Tertiary water is used mostly for landscape irrigation and various industrial and commercial uses.

Water recycling is a proven natural process that has been occurring for billions of years, and today, we have been able to replicate this cycle and even improve on it to produce safe and high quality water.

Why is it important to recycle?
About 75 percent of Earth is covered by water. It sounds like a lot, but only 1 percent of that is freshwater available for serving the water needs of more than 6.6 billion people in the world today. Because of drought and pollution, that 1 percent is slowly dwindling. To make matters worse, the world population continues to grow, thus increasing the demand for water. Now, to bring it closer to home, in Southern California, more than 66 percent of our water supply is imported from outside the region.

During the next 15 years, California must reduce its imported water supply by nearly 1 million acre-feet (one acre-foot equals 326,000 gallons), but our population continues to rise. In a nutshell, as the available water supply is decreasing, the demand for water is increasing. You can see the problem. To ensure that we have enough water to meet our present and future needs, we need to conserve water and expand the use of recycled water.

In essence, by expanding the use of recycled water, we are actually helping to conserve our drinking water supplies.

There's also an added big bonus. Recycled water is good for the environment. Without recycling, secondary treated sewage water would be discharged directly into our oceans - affecting the marine life. By recycling, less water is discharged, improving the environmental condition of our coastal waters.

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