It has come to our attention that some developers and real estate sales people are saying that the wastewater that comes from certain wastewater treatment facilities is acceptable as drinking water. Of course, when they say this they like to have a clear glass of water at hand which they hold up as evidence. They do not always sip from that glass nor do we really know where that water comes from. Bottom line, treated wastewater is not fit for drinking.
Wastewater is generally treated for 4, sometimes 5, constituents:
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- Carbonaceous Biolochemical Oxygen Demand (CBOD)
- Total Suspended Solids (TSS),
- Ammonia Nitrogen (NH3),
- Phosphorus (P)
- Minimum Dissolved Oxygen (DO) levels are established for permits in some areas
Whereas Federal Drinking Water Standards are vastly different. Here is the list of constituents that actual drinking water must be tested for:
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- Lead
- Copper
- Halo acetic Acids
- Trihalomethanes
- Selenium (ppm)
- Nitrate (ppm)(Measured as Nitrogen)
- Fluoride (ppm)
- Chromium (ppm)
- Barium (ppm)
- Arsenic (ppm)
- Combined Radium 226/228 (pCi/L)
- Gross alpha excluding radon & uranium (pCi/L)
- Gross Beta Particle (pCi/L)
- Uranium (ug/l)
- Chlorine Residual, Free
- Total Alkalinity
- Sulfate
- pH
- Hardness, Total
- Chloride
That’s quite a difference. Which would you prefer to drink?
Here is a link to the above information in chart format. Feel free to share it with others. http://www.pedernalesriveralliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/treatedWasteWater-vs-DrinkingWater.pdf
And here is a link to the Hill Country Alliance’ issue paper on treated wastewater: http://www.pedernalesriveralliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/THC_DischargeMyths_Paper2019-1.pdf