![]() They would likely go into effect next April and it will take many years to reach people’s taps. The State Water Resources Control Board is required by law to vote on them by the end of December, though they can extend the deadline if necessary. ![]() The draft rules, released on July 21st, still face a gauntlet of public comment, a hearing and peer review by another panel of experts before being finalized. Luis Canela, a water quality technician, injects chemicals to chlorinate water at the Pure Water Southern California Demonstration Plant in Carson. Most treated sewage - about 400 million gallons a day in Los Angeles County alone - is released into rivers, streams and the deep ocean. This water is expected to be more expensive than imported water, but also provide a more renewable and reliable supply for California as climate change continues. “I would have no hesitation drinking this water my whole life,” said Daniel McCurry, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Southern California. A panel of engineering and water quality scientists deemed an earlier version of the regulations protective of public health, although they raised concerns that the treatment process would be energy-intensive. The 62 pages of proposed rules, more than a decade in the making, are not triggering much, if any, debate among health or water experts. “Quite honestly, it’ll be the cleanest drinking water around,” said Darrin Polhemus, deputy director of the state’s Division of Drinking Water. ![]() And then, finally, the wastewater is subjected to the regular treatment that all drinking water currently undergoes. Valuable minerals, such as calcium, that were filtered out are restored. It is bubbled with ozone, chewed by bacteria, filtered through activated carbon, pushed at high pressures through reverse osmosis membranes multiple times, cleansed with an oxidizer like hydrogen peroxide and beamed with high-intensity UV light. ![]() Between flush and faucet, a slew of steps are designed to remove chemicals and pathogens that remain in sewage after it has already undergone traditional primary, secondary and sometimes tertiary treatment. ![]()
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