The Water Recycling Revolution

Tapping into the Future

William M. Alley, Rosemarie Alley

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Year: 2022
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781538160428
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Environmental Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

A 2023 Choice Reviews Outstanding Academic Title
Move past the "yuck factor" by learning the benefits and science behind recycling wastewater to beat climate change.
In recent years, humans have begun to turn the age-old taboo against mixing sewage and drinking water on its head by using advanced treated wastewater to supplement a city's drinking water supply. This increasingly widespread practice, known as potable reuse, qualifies as nothing less than a drinking water revolution. Water reuse offers a renewable, locally managed, and drought resistant water supply. The Water Recycling Revolution tracks the story of this development, examines the pros and cons, and explores its future potential.
In this book, William M. Alley and Rosemarie Alley answer our most pressing questions: How do you get people to overcome the visceral reaction known as the "Yuck Factor" and not only drink, but appreciate, recycled water? What about all those pharmaceuticals and personal care products that people casually flush down the drain? Will diverting discharges from a wastewater treatment plant damage downstream users or ecosystems that previously depended on that water? And what are the implications for climate change? These questions are answered by delving into the history of major water recycling projects from California to Virginia, each with a unique story of what led them to develop potable reuse, as well as the challenges they had to overcome. Additional concerns addressed include pathogens, contaminants of emerging concern, achieving acceptable risk, onsite and decentralized reuse systems, and directpotable reuse. Recycling wastewater can make for a bright future in the fight against climate change, and this book is a valuable resource to convince readers.

Table of contents

• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1 America’s Finest City
• 2 Early Days
• 3 Trailblazers
• 4 Breakthrough: The Orange County Story
• 5 From Toilet-to-Tap to Pure Water
• 6 Colorado’s Front Range
• 7 Georgia and Virginia Have Water Reuse on Their Minds
• 8 Florida: The Long Road from Purple Pipes to Potable Reuse
• 9 Microbes and Natural Buffers
• 10 Contaminants of Emerging Concern
• 11 Achieving Acceptable Risk
• 12 Serving It Straight Up
• 13 Small Can Be Beautiful
• 14 One Water
• Notes
• Selected Bibliography
• About the Authors