Fascinating reading, this topic.

Everyone has given me much to think about.

Obviously we must manage our water resources far better than the squandering manner of the past.

As for contaminants; human waste is (comparatively) easy to remive when compared to medicinces as Forrest mentioned and radioactivity from areas effected by nuclear accidents and waste storage leaching in water table.

If I recall my early chemistry lessons; distillation should take care of medical contaminants like xeno-estrogens. As for radiation, well I can't speak for Europe but the issue does speak volumes for Australia remaining a nuclear power free-zone.

We are being precious about recycled water - all water is recycled one way or another - it is more about perception and how to change that. And perception is one of the most difficult things for humans to change.

That old chestnut again. As one post mentions, visits to may other cities and the drinking of tap water in those without any knowledge.

London's water is said to have been through seven sets of kidneys on its way in and out of WWTPs and WTPs on its way to the tap. It's a process that is well tried and tested (and safe).

I was involved years ago in taking waste Bauxite residue, waste gypsum and sand and creating an excellent filtration system that pulled ALL microbes and nutrients out of waste water. Never used on any large scale but did demonstrate the value (once again) of using soil as a filter.

I am with SIG, there is to much medicine being flushed into the sewage systems to make it viable as drinking water. I remember when my now retired engineer brother worked solely on designing water treatment plants told me in the sixties that the chemical (meds)problem would have to change the the whole system. That time the input of natural meds was not a problem as it is now with mainly synthetics being fed to us. Let the almighty help us if we are drinking our own or somebody else's medicine. DNA changing over time will be the case. But that is exactly what we need to cull us. Great plan!

The thread shows that recycling sewage is a very complex topic.

A few ideas/comments that have not been raised:

With respect to using desalinated water for drinking, what would be the long-term effects on population health? Is there too much or too little filtering of important minerals in the process? Will it lead to mineral deficiencies in people? It would be safer to mix desal water with natural dam water to make a shandy rather than drinking straight desal.

The model water purifier is nature itself. So, any purifying system should harness, or at least mimic, nature. Make the most of natural processes such as exposure to sunlight, aeration of the water and maximise the amount of time the water is exposed to nature.

The medicines in the water supply can, with the right treatment, be turned into a valuable resource. Why flush it away into the ocean? There should be a way to reintroduce them into the water supply so that a trace dose is drunk by all in the community in the same way that fluoride is added to water or folate added to bread. If done right, it could easily reduce the cost of the cost of, and need for, a Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Youse can TELL me all you want that recycled water is safe. Someone is yet to convince me.

Really, I'm on tank water so it isn't my genetic pool you'll be risking.

It seems to me we have the technology and the abundance to use sea water. Don't we?.

StG

Do birds crap on your roof? Possums, fruit bats, etc how about dust from nearby farms with all their chemicals/hormones, dead mice, bugs leaf matter if any is true ....guess what that goes in your tank and you're probably drinking water that is at least as 'polluted' as that which comes from town water. I'd be interested to know when was the tank last internally sterilized? When was the water extensively tested by biochemists etc?

The water that leaves the processing plants are regularly tested and dosed. The equipment is regularly cleaned/sterilized etc.

In truth every thing today has been “polluted” by industry one way or the other.
Clearly the water today by and large isn’t as “pure” as it was say 50 years ago but then we don’t suffer the diseases either.

Think of it this way at least you don’t have to drink Adelaide water.
It has body and CSI are still trying to find out who's.
Have no fear you’re not going to get out of this world alive anyway…so bottoms up and stop worrying so much. :-)