Reclaimed Water

[Ruth Carr]

Charlie Miranda is promoting recycled wastewater for drinking water (and other uses) and more power to him. People need to be educated however as to how thoroughly reuse water is treated in order to use again for the highest treated use of water. SWFWMD completed a study early in the year on injection and withdrawal of reclaimed water - it includes treatment, storage for a long time and then withdrawal from deep wells in order to use it again. Don't take my word for it - read the SWFWMD website and look at successes in California. Optimal use of the water cycle needs to be addressed in Florida in order to protect our aquifers and manage water use against drought. The population will continue to grow again and we need to be prepared. Lets stop putting 55 million gallons a day of wastewater into the Gulf (we will have to anyway as EPA is dictating it). Anyone have some innovative ideas on how to reuse wastewater?

[Adam Fritz]

This will continue to be a major issue as this area continues to grow... the more information we can get the better... thanks for adding this topic...

[terre tulsiak]

I joined this blog simply to communicate with the few people in Tampa who seem aware that there are OTHER options. I've been repairing- not even actually renovating- my 1920s revival home for TOO LONG but have run into wall after roadblock after deadend in the quest to green up and stop wasting resources, from building materials to water- greywater to rainwater. I've stood firm in my conviction that there is no need for another "variance" in Beach Park, and have spent untold hours trying to educate myself, contracters, subs, officials, and neighbors about the benefits and obvious connections between sustainable practices and our expectations of a healthy future......

Adam Fritz said:

This will continue to be a major issue as this area continues to grow... the more information we can get the better... thanks for adding this topic...

[Grant Rimbey]

I think we first we should reuse reclaimed water for irrigation on ALL yards and golf courses and agriculture everywhere in the county. The problem with this is the little reclaimed water that Tampa has is not filtered well and still has lots of salts in it that kills plants like azaleas. Not good.

After we learn how to filter it well enough for plants to survive, we might THEN consider drinking it.

Currently, reclaimed water is available in Tampa only in south Tampa, go figure, and even there folks are not required to hook up to it. Hook up should be absolutely mandatory if reclaimed is available.

I think around half the total water used in this county goes to irrigation.