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In Times of Scarcity, California’s Best New Source of Water? Reuse.

/in , , /by /Water & the Westby Caroline M. Reinhart

As California has struggled with drought, Governor Gavin Newsom’s fundamental solution: find more water by diversifying the state’s public water supply. Because of the proximity of the Pacific Ocean, one of the most frequently mentioned sources is seawater desalination. A few communities are trying it, despite environmental concerns.

But another potential source gets less public attention, even though water providers are showing increasing interest thanks to its early successes: reuse.

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Ukiah to Expand Recycled Water Project, Offset a Whopping 50% of Water Use by Treating Wastewater

/in , /by /The Mendocino Voiceby Kate Fishman

The city of Ukiah has received a $53.7 million grant to expand its water recycling project across multiple schools and parks, enabling the city to offset 50% of its average water use with treated wastewater by fall of 2024.

Ukiah’s program falls under an overall goal by the State Water Resources Control Board to increase California’s use of recycled water, which according to the Volumetric Annual Report of Wastewater and Recycled Water stood at 731,586 acre-feet per year in 2021.

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New Rules Will Expand How Water Can Be Reused in Colorado

/in , /by /CBS Coloradoby Michael Abeyta

Water is already a scarce commodity in the West, but if Colorado keeps growing we are going to need even more. One source could be treating reused drinking water. It’s a scenario water providers and the state are already planning for.

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A Quick, Cost-Effective Method to Track the Spread of COVID-19 Through Untreated Wastewater

/in , , /by /Smart Water Magazineby Hokkaido University

A group of researchers have demonstrated that, from seven methods commonly used to test for viruses in untreated wastewater, an adsorption-extraction technique can most efficiently detect SARS-CoV-2. This gives us another tool to detect the presence and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Poop Tests in Sewage Might Predict Coronavirus Surge

/in , , /by /The Orange County Registerby Martin Wisckol

Scientists across the nation are examining Southern California’s poop — maybe even yours — with the hope of more quickly identifying COVID-19 hotspots and better preparing for future surges. The information could also signal when stay-at-home orders can be safely eased in specific communities.

Untreated sewage has been used for years to track viruses as well as to analyze opioid use by neighborhood. Now the race is on to determine whether it can serve as an early warning system for the new coronavirus, particularly since the small fraction of the population receiving swab tests cannot capture the breadth of asymptomatic infections.

“Testing of every individual is very difficult. But if you have 50,000 people in a community, you may be able to determine the prevalence by testing the wastewater,” said Sunny Jiang, a microbiologist leading a pilot project at UC Irvine to identify COVID-19 in sewage systems.

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Treated Wastewater May be Safe for Aquaculture

/in , , /by /PHYS.orgby American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Although aquaculture in treated wastewater is practiced worldwide, there is scant scientific research concerning whether organic micropollutants are present at safe levels for consumption.

A new study in Aquaculture by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has determined that organic micropollutants in the water—trace elements of heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and personal care products as well as pesticides, solvents, and detergents—result in minimal accumulation in fish. Additionally, the wastewater does not appear to affect other commercially important traits of fish.

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Ukiah’s Wastewater No Longer Being Wasted

/in , , /by /Ukiah Daily Journalby Justine Frederiksen

The city of Ukiah made its first delivery of recycled water through its extensive Purple Pipe system this week, putting about 2 million gallons of water reclaimed from local sinks, showers and toilets into an irrigation pond just south of the Ukiah Valley Wastewater Treatment Plant.

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A Look Inside Ventura’s Wastewater Operations. What’s The Future of its Estuary Discharge?

/in , /by /Ventura County Starby Arlene Martinez

There’s a lot of confusion and concern about what will happen once the city of Ventura no longer discharges millions of gallons of water into the Santa Clara River Estuary.

There are questions over what will happen to the birds, fish, turtles, ducks and other critters once their environment dramatically changes.

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Agreement Will Pipe Treated Tijuana Water To Baja’s Wine Country

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Michele Parente

Officials in Baja California’s drought-parched Valle de Guadalupe wine country are toasting a new agreement that will pipe in treated wastewater from Tijuana to irrigate the vineyards. A pact was signed in the Valle de Guadalupe on Sept. 13 between Baja’s governor, Francisco Vega de Lamadrid, and Fabián Yañez, who oversees operations in Latin America for ODIS Asversa, a private Israeli company that specializes in treating wastewater and recycling it for irrigation.

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