Fun Facts About Recycling Water

Water recycling uses treated wastewater for agricultural and landscape irrigation, industrial practices, ground water and home toilet systems. The water recycling process can be either planned or unplanned. In addition, recycled water benefits both human society and the natural environment.

Unplanned Water Recycling

• Some water is recycled in an unplanned process. For example, cities take water supplies from rivers that receive wastewater discharge. This water has therefore already been used, treated and recycled several times before ending up in a river.

Benefits of Recycled Water

• Recycled water can be used to fulfill several different needs. Most of these needs are for non-drinking uses such as agriculture and landscape, wetland and riparian development or cooling water for power plants. Water recycling also provides environmental benefits to ecosystems that are sensitive to wastewater discharge. Furthermore, decreasing wastewater discharge reduces a variety of pollution problems.

Future of Water Recycling

• Since water recycling has been a successful and reliable source of water supply without detrimental health affects on humans, the practice is growing in both private and public industries. As water demands increase over time, industry will strive for continual advances in the treatment of wastewater, as well as additional research on the health affects of recycled water.