Is the tap water in America treated waste water?

Question

Today on Yahoo! In the News one of the headlines is 'Australian state to drink recycled water.' I always thought everyone's tap water was recycled. I don't mean naturally recycled in the water cycle, but in waste water treatment plants. Is the tap water in America treated waste water? If so, what is the big concern in Australia -- is it just because its disgusting to think about?

Answer 1

There are at least 2 types of water for recyling. Grey water & black water. Grey water is from baths/showers, dishwashing, laundry, hand washing. Black water is from the toilet. Grey water is recycled/treated to go back through your taps. I have never heard of black water being used for this purpose. It is called un-potable(not good for human consumption)& is used for construction sites, roadwork, watering fields etc. Sure hope this clears up things for you.

Answer 2

At this point in time, no community that I know of uses purely recycled (or "gray" water) for drinking, however it is commonly used in some areas for landscaping and industrial use. Notwithstanding this, some of the water does enter into the drinking water supply once it is discharged back into the water supply.

Communities along a river, for instance, share the water supply of the river, and are each allowed to take a certain amount of water, with limits designed to ensure there is water for each city. Each city that has a sewage treatment facility will discharge water back into the river. As such, a small portion of the water that is received from the river is treated sewage from any cities upstream. Discharge into a lake would also lead to similar results.

Answer 3

Australia is not blessed with the water resources of many places in North America; look at a physical relief map of Australia and you'll see how much of it is desert. That's why it is one of the hotbeds in innovation in water-saving toilet technology. They invented toilets that have two different types of flush (one for No. 1 and another for No. 2 with more water). It's a serious issue there. But water is becoming a serious limiting factor everywhere, even in water-rich Canada and the U.S.
Whether your tap water comes recycled or not depends on your location. Some places have excellent fresh water sources and some don't.
But in the end, as you point, we're all downstream in the water cycle.

Answer 4

in most urban areas tap water is at least in part recycled waste water. places like los angeles and the surounding suburbs use so much water they have to import additional water from 5 other states. water demand outstrips water supply virtually everywhere.

Answer 5

No, tap water is treated water from one of the following: lake, river, well, stream, ...

We do use recycled water in some communities for watering lawns, etc.

Answer 6

the water is going to the sewer the position the bathroom drains too the water is ninety 9.8 % organic at the same time as its executed and in user-friendly words 2% of earths water is clean some thing else is salt and its intense priced to de-salinify -take the salt out

Answer 7

If you think that is disgusting, you should do research on how Vitamin C tablets are made in America. They use sheets covered with sewer sludge and the mold that forms is then distilled and crystalized to make Vitamin C that almost everyone uses.

Answer 8

Yes. You are basically letting the illuminati crap in your mouth everytime you take a drink

Answer 9

YES it is indeed recycled poop! and thats our water yep it is. wow its also fomer vomit

Answer 10

H20 is H20!!