San Diego Mulls Drinking Effluent Water

SAN DIEGO - As San Diego considers a wastewater reuse program for the city's nearly 1.2 million water consumers, residents are still unclear on the technology and safety of treated effluent water, The Union-Tribune reported this week.

The pilot project is designed to store purified wastewater in a reservoir for use as drinking water, which could be a taste of things to come if San Diego becomes the first city in California to store purified wastewater in a local reservoir for drinking, the paper said.

If San Diego officials overcome the "toilet to tap" stigma that derailed their original water re-purification strategy in the late 1990s, they could become national leaders for a technology that some say will be necessary for water development in the arid West, the article said.

Yesterday, an advisory panel of city residents began discussing San Diego's six major scenarios for using wastewater to help meet water-supply needs for a rapidly growing region. The group will continue to meet as part of the city's $900,000 analysis of strategies for recycling water, the paper said.

According to the Union-Tribune, the panel's conclusions will be presented to the City Council by the year's end.

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