1. Water is the lifeblood of any city. With this is mind, it's no
wonder that sustainable water policies are a subject of
contention in everywhere and one of the best ways to
stretch every drop is by recycling water. Unfortunately,
rumors and misinformation have arisen around the topic.
The concern is understandable, as potable water is
essential to good health, but these myths are dangerous in
their own right, because recycled water programs depend
on public support. Have you fallen for one of these
popular myths?
2. Myth 1: You may as well be drinking sewage water.
3. Most people have no problem with redistributing recycled
water for irrigation and other non-potable uses, but are
hesitant about direct consumption because the perception
is that reused water isn't far off from sewage. The reality
is that waste-water contains only one tablespoon of dirt
per 53 gallons. It's then treated via reverse osmosis, which
removes microorganisms and other particulates, making it
cleaner even than rain water.
4. Myth 2: The treatment process creates chemically altered,
unnatural Franken-water.
5. The water filtering process is often wrongly thought to
involve chemical dousing, but reverse osmosis works on
the same filtration principles found in nature. Nature
filters water through sand, stone, and other porous
materials which let the water through, but not
particulates. Reverse osmosis is identical, but uses much
smaller holes, and higher water pressure.
6. Myth 3: Recycled water contains toxic levels of drugs and
hormones.
7. Concerns about the presence hormones and other
chemicals arose from a study of sewage runoff in the U.K.
which found the river's fish were affected by chemicals in
the water. But that's not the whole story. The sewage
water in question was nowhere near the filter levels of
municipal water.
8. Reverse osmosis removes almost 100 percent of these
chemicals. Compare that to well water and that can
contain lead and other naturally occurring contaminants.
9. Myth 4: Reverse osmosis removes the beneficial minerals
naturally found in water.
10. Reverse osmosis does remove almost all mineral traces
from water, but the core of this myth is that people
receive vital nutrients through water, which the World
Health Organization has stated as patently false. Recent
findings actually suggest that the inorganic minerals found
in untreated water may actually have a harmful effect,
over a lifetime, in the form of hardening arteries, kidney
and gallstones, and many other maladies. It's estimated
that an average person may ingest up to 300 pounds of
rock over the course of 60 years, some of which is
absorbed and accumulates.
11. So, the next time you hear a most likely well meaning, but
misinformed, person repeating these recycled water
myths, do your part and set the record straight.
