Green Junction - Waste Not, Want Not: Turning Wastewater Into a Lifeline
For years, I have been teaching students about the world’s water crisis, and have highlighted a projection by the World Health Organization that by 2025, 1 billion people in the world would lack access to clean water. Now, here we are in the year 2025. A study published in the summer of 2024 indicates this projection was significantly wrong. It determined that 4.4 billion people in low- and middle-income countries lack access to clean water. Most of these places have limited sanitation infrastructure, are often engaged in conflict, and lack adequate funding for water access and treatment.
Areas in the United States have been experiencing water scarcity for many years. Agriculture and industry place a heavy burden on fresh water and over-development and climate change have further stressed places like the southwestern US. One solution to limited freshwater is the reuse of wastewater. This process is also known as toilet-to-tap or recycling or reclamation of water. According to the Watereuse organization, “recycled water generally refers to treated domestic wastewater that is used more than once before it passes back into the water cycle.” Wastewater can be treated to the point of potable (drinkable) water or to a lesser extent, depending on its final use. According to UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, the state of Nevada recycles 85% of its wastewater, and Arizona recycles 52%. California generates the most wastewater, but is reclaiming only 22%.
Researcher Noah Garrison explains that in the southwest “We’re going to have a 2 million to 4 million acre-foot per year shortage in the amount of water that we’ve promised to be delivered from the Colorado River. There is a tremendous opportunity to expand recycled water use.” The South Nevada Water Authority also implemented a water conservation program that offers cash rebates to homeowners who use native plants and natural landscaping instead of grass and other plants that require watering. Water scarcity is a serious problem that requires a variety of conservation and reuse solutions. This means we need to view wastewater as a valuable commodity!
