recycling water

Recycled water.
Why recycle water?
In the old days, fresh water was considered an expendable resource. There was more supply than demand.
We now know water is not infinite. As population grows, the demand on a finite amount of fresh water increases. New ways of procuring ‘new’ fresh water is becoming increasingly expensive. There simply is no other viable alternative to get the supply we need to meet demand in our increasingly thirsty cities.

Is recycled water safe?
At some stage of a waters’ cycle, water get reused. Although we have billions of litres of water in the oceans and seas, this is not drinkable. The fresh water we drink is, to an extent, recycled. It is also safe
Recycled water (or treated sewerage) is just a sped-up version of this process. Most of the toxic substances are removed through treatment and pumped either back into the dams or straight back onto the drinking water supply. If it is pumped directly into the drinking water supply, extra treatment is needed to bring it up to safe levels.

I heard that a town in Victoria, Australia rejected recycling water. Why?
Although recycled sewerage is safe if treated properly, and the government supported the plan, the instant you say it is recycled sewerage, you start losing support for the idea.
People have a way of conjuring up good or bad images, and recycled sewerage sounds bad. Campaigners against the idea used this to sway people who were undecided to their side. Note that sounding bad doesn’t necessarily mean it is bad.
That particular town wasn’t the first to float the idea. Indeed, if you have visited Singapore or Saudi Arabia, you have used recycled water. There, they have no other choice if they want their cities to survive.