The Impact of Water Recycling

Nature has been recycling since the beginning of time and continues to reuse water today. Recycling water with technology is a relatively recent invention that reduces some of the impact that humans have on the ecosystem. Water reclamation can provide a sustainable source of water that does not disturb local environments. It can even improve the public health and food supply.

Identification

• Water recycling can mean one of two things: reclaiming the water through treatment, or simply reusing the water. Most recycled water comes from sewage systems and needs to be filtered at a separate site. Water reuse can occur most anywhere, especially when used for industrial cooling. In both cases, reused and recycled water is not fit for human consumption unless extra filtering occurs, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Source of Water

• Water recycling is a great source of water for the non-potable needs of a community. Many communities receive their water from underground pools called "aquifers" and/or from streams, which can run low due to the resource demands of modern society.

Environmental

• Water recycling has the compounding effect of providing a self-containing water source instead of needing to use water from sensitive ecosystems, according to the EPA. Plants and wildlife need a steady source of water, just like humans. Water recycling can also improve the quality of water in ecosystems. Instead of dumping waste in a stream, it can be filtered and returned without the toxins that harm animals and plants.

Health

• Preventing waste water discharge into water resources not only improves the health of the environment and its diverse ecosystem, it can even improve the food supply, reports the EPA. Waste water often contains minerals, such as nitrogen, that agriculture can use for fertilizers. Filtration prevents contaminants like nitrogen from entering the potable water supply and reducing the need for the production of commercial fertilizer.

Misconceptions and Potential

• Mankind did not invent water recycling; it has been a part of the environment's life cycle since the beginning of time, according to the EPA. Plants and animals use water, which then evaporates or is secreted from the body into the environment. It then gets filtered through soil and returned to the earth.

  Current water recycling usually only exists for non-consumption purposes like irrigation. Although the initial cost of a recycling system today is rather high, a growing population's need for water should make recycling a major part of future society.