recycled water

[mickoking]

My opion may get many aussies backs up, but it's time to stop thinking they too good for the real world and accept finite resources exist on this planet and this continent.
Drinking recycled water is saving the planet, saving Australia from a dry future.

Well said Ziggy We live on the second driest continent in the world (and it's getting drier). We want large green as green lawns but at the same time baulk at the thought of drinking recycled water. Many of our ancestors came from fertile parts of Europe and Asia but the fact is that many Aussies live near the edge of an expanding desert, we have to change our ways. Singapore uses recycled water and guess what? It is the only country in South East Asia (with the possible exception of Malaysia) where you can drink the tap water.

[circumpolar (Matt)]

I have been drinking it almost all my life!

I live in North Richmond. Our water comes straight out of the Hawkesbury/Nepean River and is then treated. This river is one of the most polluted in NSW. Turf farms, market gardens, most of western subburbs, industrial areas of the west, most western sewrage effuent water returns and South Creek!. All the Nice stuff.

But I would bet any money every Sydney sider couldn't tell the difference between the water they drink now to what I'm drinking!!!

Yes, It tastes, looks and smell the same. This is a no-brainer if you ask an Hawkesbury resident.

[Shawn]

I voted NO Im affraid guys, If for example the project went ahead, and everybody is drinking recycled water, history is repleat with example of selling a product to the public, what you buy on opening day is not neccessarily what you get six months down the track...Chlorinated Flouridated Lots of Allum. and who knows what else will go into this to make it fiscally viable..

S

[norm]

Absolutely . I wish they just bloody get on with it. Unfortunately majority of our Pollies don't have the conviction to do anything about it, all they do is talk, debate, more talk....

[Lee]

Originally Posted by jjjnettie

If the drinking public were to see the condition of their water catchments,
a brown murky combination of mud, duck and fish excrement with the occasional dead turtle floating on top for flavour, ( this is Somerset Dam, sorry Brisbane ) , they'd be happy to have all that clean purified water poured in to dilute it.

Exactly.....

I think it is a good leadership decision on Peter Beatties behalf to decide on this, the general public can't be given the chance to screw it up, and put the process back years until it is *really* critical..... Always scare mongers with questions like "Would *you* (big finger point) give water that has come from a hospital toilet full of diarrhoea to *your* baby????" to get in the road.

[Astroman (Andrew Wall)]

I'd be stuffed if I would drink the crap that came out of someone elses bowels. They are much better off using the water for industries than for human consumption.

To little too late, should be the Liberal motto.

[Lee]

You already do drink the crap that came from someone elses bowels! - it just flows out to sea, evaporates into clouds, rains down, runs across the ground (across some animal turd probably) into the dam with the dead fish and god knows what - then you drink it, after it has flowed to your house through pipes full of slime and rust and crud.....
Water is water, regardless of where it has lived.....
Don't they say every cup of water on earth today will have more than a few water molecules in it that were once inside Jesus Christs' bladder?

[Astroman (Andrew Wall)]

It doesnt matter what people think really, I have my view you have yours, everyone else has theirs. Its the mental aspect of it that I cannot put my head around. Most water I drink has been boiled and has milk and coffee and sugar in it that way in my mind its covered up....

[mickoking]

Sorry, I don't think we have too much choice in the matter. Peter Beattie and particularly Johnny H are not exactly my favorite pollies but they have the right idea with water recycling. What are the other options? energy intensive desalination or exploiting what little ground and surface water we have left after over 200 years of industrial colonization. Our country is drying up but our population is increasing; hard decisions have to be made.

[DavidH]

Using recycled water is a necessity that we will all have to come to terms with in the future. Drinking it probably will not be necessary. Most of the drinking water we use is flushed, poured or washed down the drain and has very little to do with being consumed by mouth. A simple rainwater tank on most residences will produce enough drinking water to serve the needs of the occupants. Bottled water (whatever you think of the marketing of it) can also be used to serve the drinking needs of most people.
I have found that the installation of a filter on our kitchen water supply has significantly enhanced the palatability of our water, so I do not think that our current water supply is all that "pure".
So, in short, most of the water we use is not consumed by drinking and even if it is our current water is not as pristine as we might like to think it is.

Bottoms up,
David.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Originally Posted by plasmodium

Don't they say every cup of water on earth today will have more than a few water molecules in it that were once inside Jesus Christs' bladder?

Yep Lee,

I read a science paper only a few years ago about water.

It is not made, manufactured or produced. Water is water. The water we drink now is exactly the same water the ancient Pharoahs drank and bathed in and swam in. It is the same water that the Dinosaurs drank and wee'd out.

It is never replaced, only recycled!!! Round and round it goes.

The next time I drank a glass of water (after I read the paper) I thought to myself "wow, this exact water would have been handled and drank by Jesus, Joan of Arc, Caesar, Rembrandt, Beethoven and a host of Tyrranasaurus Rexii, Pteradactyl, Triceratops, peasants from a Medieval village, a few thousands slaves building the Pyramids and a some bloke named Bruce.

Fascinating! And we pass it in for others to drink. Water never runs out, it just gets relocated around the Earth.

Oh, I voted yes coz we drink it already. But this time they are going to recycle it thru a man made process before they add the Chemicals to it. You would be amazed at the chemicals and sludge that goes into our food (i make some of it for food additives, cosmetics and Toothpaste!). Worse than any recycled poo!, but we happily munch away not knowing.

[Ric]

The way I see it, we would only be catching up with the rest of the world.
We are one of the driest continents on the planet and we waste so much.

Bring it on

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Originally Posted by ballaratdragons

a host of Tyrranosaurus Rexii

Hmmm.... are they that, or Tyrranosaurai Rex ? (hmmmm...pondering....)


PS - Count me in. I think it's slightly ridiculous to be worried about drinking "ex-excrement". It's all been there before - the water cycle is a closed loop. Good stuff Beattie!

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Originally Posted by Omaroo

Hmmm.... are they that, or Tyrranosaurai Rex ? (hmmmm...pondering....)

Dunno just sounded right as I was typing it

[AstroJunk (Jonathan)]

Originally Posted by ballaratdragons

The next time I drank a glass of water (after I read the paper) I thought to myself "wow, this exact water would have been handled and drank by Jesus etc...

Nah, he didn't drink it, he walked on it!

[Shawn]

Originally Posted by AstroJunk

Nah, he didn't drink it, he walked on it!

And Turned it into wine,,,

[GrahamL]

love the poop water .. bring it on

No problems for me to drink it, BUT... I would like to see some info on the projected life of existing dams from when they
were built.. we have a very long record base of rainfall over our countrys history.. So droughts are a new thing ?..Govts do have an obligation to lay down infastructure to meet the needs of a growing population.. I suspect they have ignored some
pretty compelling data that new storage needed to be online 20 or so years back.

[xelasnave]

Originally Posted by acropolite

I have no problem with recycled water, but at the end of the day, our pollies need to address the causes of the problem, not find band aid solutions to the effects. They also need to put an end to the "growth economy" practices and policies that are currently pushed, as any high school student knows growth is exponential and can't be sustained indefinitely.

We certainly need a few band aids but those giving them out are reluctant .
But your point is most valid . We have "them" wringing their hands re GW yet not coming to grips with the already established fact that we live on a relatively dry continent. GW agricultural planning is called for which means figure out additional water supplies for an even more dry and hot future. Given the fast movement to nuclear power..we went from lets have a public debate to where will they go so fast it says to me that maybe we could move that fast with coming up with some specific proposals for say dams, recycling plants, rain water tank manufactures tax incentives, incentive for those reducing pressure on demand... money has been set aside for a committee which sounds good but one looses a little faith in committee appointments as my impression many recommendations of committees are simply ignored..why have committees if you don’t take their advice?
I drink tank water and have done so for near 20 years (here and when down on the river in Sydney) and I bet at times recycled stuff would beat it hands down.. however there is the aspect of perception and often even incorrect perception bets logic..in a practical political sense. So I can see why Mr B has taken direct action in Queensland a vote would see no step forward. Those who feel strongly about not drinking recycled water need to be placated otherwise when similar systems are sort to be introduced in other cities the "negative" voice of experience will get unbalanced air time.. No one will want to hear the success.. the media will play to the horror stories...They will focus on "victims" who have some problem they can show is a direct result of drinking recycled water..
The issue dictates that care must be taken to ease all concerns so as not to cut off the opportunity for other major cities because some journalist decides to do a sky is falling program on the horrors of recycled water.
alex

[ving (David)]

interesting results. I am glad I made the poll now....

we need to send this off to the pollies i think

It never even dawned upon me that water is already recycled, infact all of it is. regardless something needs to be done and so my vote was in the positive too....

[Dujon]

In a general sense I would, but only if the processing system is guaranteed to be effective.

A few years ago we had a problem with cryptosporidium passing through filters and processing to find its way into our water pipes. If the general media is to be believed (yes, I know, I know) it's not unusual for our current 'state of the art' sewage treatment works to break down and pour untreated effluent into their output pipes.

So, a qualified 'yes'.

Now, if I could only get these splinters out of my posterior . . .