As water scarcity becomes a greater concern worldwide, more governments and communities have begun investigating the process labeled "
With nearly
1 out of every 8 people on the planet still lacking access to safe drinking water, governments have begun implementing this solution to ensure that water remains as much of a plentiful and domestic resource as possible. Although
public response to recycling waste water to the tap has not been positive, one might be surprised to learn of the benefits of "toilets to tap" systems and how many regions have already installed this purification method.
Singapore has turned to recycling sewage and waste water, and millions of the nation's people have accepted this new move as necessary. The country has previously relied on Malaysia and other neighboring lands for water resources, but there has been a push to make Singapore water self-sufficient. Previously, recycled waste water has been utilized for Singapore's industrial needs, but has also begun more frequently running through the tap. In
Windhoek, Namibia, sewage purification has been a reality for several decades. With wider public acceptance of the technology, recycling waste water has the potential to end water-rights disputes that are likely to form in nations that often face shortages, such as the US, China, Egypt, and Vietnam.
Recycling waste water for home uses is also present in the US. This method of recycled water is used by
NASA for the space station. Toilet-to-tap water recycling has also been a reality in
Orange County and San Diego, California since 2008. Finally, nearly 5% of all tap water from
Fairfax Water, a company that supplies to more than 1.5 million in Northern Virginia, comes from recycled sewage. Fairfax first began using this method of water-recycling in the 1970's and continues to expand its use.
The obvious barrier to this more drought-resilient technology is public aversion to drinking water that was once sewage.
Psychologists have studied the reaction to toilet-to-tap systems and observed that even proving water is safe and clean is not enough to settle the stomachs of citizens who feel they could be drinking pure sewage. In truth, however, recycled waste water might not only be the answer to shortages caused by climate and growing population, but it is also generally cleaner than bottled water. The three stages of water purification used during this process ensure that water quality meets
EPA tap water regulations, which are stricter than those placed on bottled water manufacturers. Furthermore, only
10% of this recycled waste water actually comes from toilets, despite the method's nickname. The rest comes from other sources such as showers, sinks, and washing machines.
First, water is filtered through an intricate purification system that removes harmful bacteria.
Second, waste water molecules undergo
reverse osmosis, which forces incredible pressure upon the molecules that are then pushed through plastic.
Lastly, the water is exposed to ultra violet light and small samples of peroxide, eliminating even the tiniest unwanted bacteria. This three step process purifies water to a higher regulatory standard than even popular and expensive bottled spring water.
Should the public learn to accept "toilets to tap", the benefits will be seen world-wide. Water-related conflict will become a worry of the past as each nation could be self-sufficient producers of water resources to support growing population. This technology is also eco-friendly as it directly recycles a precious resource instead of harvesting new sources of water such as through energy-intensive
desalination. It could also give more than
800 million people access to clean water who currently live without it. In the future of water purification, we hope to see toilet-to-tap triumph!
Photo Credit: "Glass of Water With Light" by mike_w40 used under the creative commons copyright 
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