The biggest challenge in any water reuse program is not the technology. Rather, it is gaining public acceptance and overcoming what recycling experts have aptly named the “yuck factor.” In past years, proposals that met all technical requirements have been killed by opponents who were simply repulsed by the idea, despite abundant evidence that reclaimed water is safe and clean. For example, in 1999 citizens of San Diego rejected a recycling program for drinking water. While most agreed that such water would be fine for landscaping and irrigation, 63 percent opposed using it for drinking. Opponents said they did not trust the recycling process, had health concerns, or did not have enough information about recycled water. The option is under exploration once again in the face of continuing shortages.
To get the word out about the process and the high quality of the filtered water, the Orange County Groundwater Replenishment System’s developers made more than 2,000 community presentations. They also took the proposal and the results of water quality tests to local and state officials, members of the medical and public-health communities, environmental advocacy groups, and scientists, earning endorsements across a broad base. “They are to be commended for bringing a lot of people to the table to get involved in this,” Schwab says. Visitors were invited to tour the plant and sample filtered water. (Water district officials note that first-timers were often pleasantly surprised by the pure, clean taste.)
Robert Bastian, a senior environmental scientist with the EPA who has followed the project throughout its development, calls it “very well designed” and notes that “you’re getting even better tracking of the quality of the recharge water than you would if it were coming from more ‘natural’ sources. You know more about the water that’s recharging the area now because you have control of it all the way.” Environmental scientist Michael Aitken of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health predicts that recycling will become increasingly important as a supplement to water supplies around the country. Orange County’s treatment process is “the gold standard for how to do it right,” he says.
According to Orange County Water District officials, recycling trumps many other options for supplementing the local water supply. They estimate that reusing water consumes 50 percent less energy than importing it—that is, bringing it in from outside Southern California. Annual operating costs for the recycling facility are estimated at about $27 million, currently comparable to the cost of importing it, but import prices are predicted to rise because of growing populations (pdf) throughout the Southwest. Moreover, unlike recycled water, imports are not always available during a drought. Desalinating seawater, another option that had been under consideration, would be considerably more expensive than recycling—from 50 percent to 400 percent more so. Schwab and Bastian hope that the Groundwater Replenishment System will serve as a model for other places struggling to meet their water supply needs, helping to boost prosperity and even save lives around the world.
