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Cons of Using Treated Sewage Water As Drinking Water

With Australia entertaining the idea of drinking treated sewage water, it has become an issue of some debate in the United States. While it is one way to preserve drinking water supplies, it has negative effects. Although the cons of drinking recycled water are mostly theoretical, the potential health risks from toxins and bacteria cannot be ignored. The public perception of drinking treated sewage is just of of the drawbacks.

  1. Psychological Perception

    • A major drawback to recycled water is the mental image of drinking water that was once human waste. "Readers Digest Australia" quotes John Radcliffe, commissioner of the National Water Commission, as saying that "the issue isn't about producing safe recycled water at a risk that's low enough. ...The issue is the public perception of drinking [feces]." Despite the fact that treated sewage may be safe enough, the mental image makes many people cringe.

    Bacteria and Toxins

    • It is common knowledge that sewage contains bacteria and viruses that can put human lives in danger. According to "Readers Digest Australia," even if every single organism could be eliminated, sewage contains other waste as well. Steroids, hormones and industrial chemicals all find their way into the sewer system. While there are ways to kill microorganisms, logic would dictate that removing every single toxic chemical from the water would difficult to do.

    Epidemics

    • Compounding the problem of bacteria and viruses is the large scale damage that recycled water can cause. ABC News reports that since the water is distributed over large areas, a major outbreak of water-borne organisms can spread quickly, resulting in an epidemic. Professor Peter Collignon of Canberra Hospital warns ABC News: "You just have to have it go wrong one day...you could have potentially tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people exposed to a germ." The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) echos his concerns. Among the many potentially life-threatening pathogens found in recycled water are salmonella, norovirus and cryptosporidium. Logically, if these or other bacteria were introduced into the drinking water and managed to reproduce, they would infect a wide range of people.

    Cancer

    • Recycled water can potentially cause cancer, according to Readers Digest Australia. According to cancer expert Steven Oppenheimer of California State University, "We don't have the tests to identify toxins and carcinogens that could make it through the reclamation process," he says. "It may be fine for years, until an unknown agent makes it through the process and kills people." He is not alone in his concerns. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners published a study titled "Recycled Water and Human Health Effects. They considered health risks "that might potentially arise from chronic exposure, such as carcinogenic, hormonal, heavy metal and radiological effects." These effects are strictly associated with drinking recycled water. It is not a concern if the substance is used for other things, like watering vegetation.

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