Economic Opportunity Mailing List Archive

["Dick Tinsley" <<address removed>>]

I would like to add my support to the interest in waste water use.  I think if 
I could get past the Nebraska line I could out do the Themes.  By that I mean 
during most of the year the South Platte River leaves Denver composed of 100% 
Denver effluent.  It is then fully diverted into the irrigation system some 7 
times before crossing into Nebraska.  Meanwhile all the municipalities along 
the way have little alternative but to add their effluent into the mix.  I know 
in Fort Collins the waste water from one facility goes directly into one of the 
irrigation storage reservoirs.  While the second is discharged into the river 
about 100 meters above an irrigation diversion for another reservoir.  You 
don't hear much discussion about it, but it has been going on for most of the 
last century as the Front Range as become progressively more urbanized with all 
the water committed to some form of irrigation water right going back nearly 
150 years.  This water is treated to an acceptable "agriculture standard".

Pushing the issue forward, I would venture that we are overly concerned with 
the potential problems associated with waste water.  While I can appreciate the 
need to initially err on the side of caution, I have not heard of any studies 
where this has been a problem. Those I have participated in have not been a 
problem.  I think we should note that plants only take up nutrients in the 
inorganic ionic form and not as complex organic compounds.  Thus the likelihood 
of taking up human disease bacteria and transferring them to produce is 
unlikely.  If there was any contamination than it would only be on the outside 
and easily washed off.  Given the extensive history of discrete waste water 
reused in Colorado and elsewhere, if it was a problem some outbreaks would have 
occurred in Colorado or other areas where waste water has been used for 
decades.  In the US the CDC, FDA and USDA are good at tracking these things 
down.

Thus we might look at reducing the standards, etc

I will admit I am stepping outside my normal expertise so I could be wrong. If 
so please correct me.

Dick Tinsley