You Drank What?

Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, changed a woman's life at a well, and called himself Living Water. All important symbolism in an arid land where H20 was precious then and still is. We assume though that in North America potable water is available in abundance, but an extended drought in much of the United States is pushing new technology to the forefront and getting governments to think the unthinkable. You may be aware that sewage is referred to as black water, and treated water is grey. Getting black water to the stage of being drinkable again is very new. Read on though about what is happening in the drought stricken state of Texas:

In response to the drought — lake levels in Wichita Falls, Texas dropped below 40 percent capacity last week — several Texas cities are pursing projects to turn treated sewage into millions of drinking water per day, the New York Times reports.
Wichita Falls, for example, hopes to produce 5 million gallons of potable water daily through reuse technology, and by the spring, a $14 million treatment plant in Big Springs will turn sewage into drinking water and distribute some 2 million gallons daily to the Midland-Odessa area. Other Texas cities moving ahead with the technology include Brownwood, Abilene and Lubbock, according to the Times.
The Big Springs plant will be the first project of its kind in the US because it will use direct potable-reuse technology – that is, the treated wastewater will not be sent through an aquifer before use.
In 2007, Orange County, Calif. opened the world’s largest sewage purification system to increase drinking water supplies, according to GrowingBlue, a water awareness group whose members include IBM, Veolia Water, The Nature Conservancy, the UN Global Compact CEO Water Mandate and others.
El Paso also treats its wastewater to produce potable water. There, as in Orange County, the treated wastewater is sent through an aquifer before being pumped and receiving additional cleaning.

I know, I know, it sounds really yucky, but desperate times call for innovative measures. I think Jesus would approve.

Do you? Could you bring yourself to drink recycled water?