-- liu (lookitup@dictionary.com), April 17, 2000

Answers

http://www.nandotimes.com/nation/story/body/0,1037,500193918- 500263610-501365652-0,00.html

California officials want to turn toilet water into drinking water

-- (HTMLrepairs@re.us), April 17, 2000.

Hate when that happens.

Link

-- liu (lookitup@dictionary.com), April 17, 2000.

Thanks Link Repair. Tried twice. Trying to watch stock market and post at same time I make stupid mistakes. Thought it was interesting story, anyway. :-)

-- liu (lookitup@dictionary.com), April 17, 2000.

This is certain to make a certain number of people gag, but listen, it's really not that different than what is already happening.

Think about where your drinking water comes from NOW. I don't have any hard data, but I would estimate that at least 75% of the people in the US get their drinking water from a surface water source, e.g. the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River, and so forth. Do you know how many people have flushed their toilets into the river/lake before you get to drink it? Sorry to burst your bubbles, but you might want to investigate.

I CAN tell you that the residents of New Orleans, La., whose drinking water, sad to say, is the Mississippi River, are drinking water which has already passed through an estimated 100+ people (basically anyone who lives in a city with a sewer system anywhere upstream from New Orleans contributes their doo doo and pee pee to the river. This includes everyone from the Rocky Mountains on the West east to the headwaters of the Ohio River, among other areas. Lots of folks pooping into your water supply, folks.)

I'm not pointing the finger at New Orleans, either. I live near Grants Pass, Oregon. Although I have a quite pure water source, when I go to town I am forced to drink the "city water" (Some call it "shitty water".) if I forget to bring water from home.

Grants Pass's water source is the mighty Rogue River. Unfortunately for the G.P. residents, the flushings from the cities of Rogue River, Gold Hill, Medford, Ashland, White City, Talent, Central Point, Phoenix, Eagle Point, Shady Cove, and probably some which don't immediately come to mind. These include not only shit and piss, bad enough in themselves for drinking purposes, but also every chemical dumped down the drain of any business, factory, rendering plant, lumber mill--you name it.

And we're all in it together. Most cities in the US gets water from sources contaminated in this way. And even those few that get their water from a non polluted source are contributors to the contamination of all the cities downstream on their "receiving streams".

Many streams, during the dry season, are little more than slightly diluted toilet water already, by the time they have passed a few cities.

I personally say let's put our resources into creating HIGH QUALITY bottled water to drink, and lower the standards for the water we use for flushing our toilets, watering our lawns, or washing our cars.

It would save money, and would drastically reduce the amount of chemicals, e.g. chlorine, used in the water purification process.

CLEAN bottled drinking water, delivered to your door, would also enable you to drink water which is free of all the toxins and contaminants you are currently drinking in "tap" water, because it is too epensive to purify all the water the cities currently purify, since they are purifying approximately 20 times as much as they need to, in order to put "potable" water onto you lawns, down your toilets, etc.

I suggest that everyone who if forced to pay high water bills in order to water their lawns, etc, with potable water, and is forced to drink the contaminant laden "tap water" to call their water company and TELL them to investigate this alternative.

JOJ

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@echoweb.neet), April 17, 2000.

Joe that is the best post I've ever seen you make!

-- Swampthing (in@the.swamp), April 17, 2000.

There was an article last year about the problem with chemical residue in drinking water from the prescription drugs people consume. Apparently the current water filtration process does not remove 100% of the compounds, and so we are slowly being dosed by a complex drug cocktail, abeit an extremely low concentration. The amount left in the water is growing, however, and the situation is said to be even more serious in Europe's water supplies.

Maybe Ken can shed some light on this.

-- (@ .), April 17, 2000.

@:

Maybe Ken can shed some light on this.

Ken the environmental toxicologist; LOL. The step is probably necessary for water poor areas like California, Arizonia, etc. Problems will arise. Some have been mentioned. There are others. They will need to be solved.

Just what happens when the population is greater than the water supply.

Best wishes,,,,

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), April 17, 2000.

Thanks, Swampthing.

@, it's not just pharmaceuticals which are not filtered out of our drinking water. Very few things are filtered out. Many are not even tested for. For instance, in the drought we had here in the Northwest in 1977, the city of Salem told the citizenry that they were considering using the Willamette River for a water source, since their regular supply, the Santiam River, was at a very low level.

At the ensuing public hearing, the concern was raised that the Teledyne Wah Chang Company, located some fifteen miles upstream from Salem, had been dumping heavy metals and radioactive waste into a creek which runs directly into the Willamette. The people wanted to know how much, if any, of these materials were in the Willamette at Salem. The head of the Salem Water Purification Plant told them that they hadn't even tested for these things, as it was too expensive! Salem is a city of three or four hundred thousand people. Too expensive? Wow! Z1X4Y7 (May I call you Z28?), isn't it interesting how many things come back to overpopulation?

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@echoweb.neet), April 18, 2000.

Good replies. I didn't understand what the fuss was about. We've been drinking toilet water for decades. Fortunately I live in a city that has the cleanest water. Our water is "first use" water. By the time it gets to Louisiana it's been cycled 300 times! That means the water has been put through the treatment plants and back out to residences and back again. No wonder it looks so nasty. Also our city waters the landscape with partially treated water. It looks clean but it still hasn't gone completely through the purification process. The grass loves it and we don't waste the expense.

-- Maria (anon@ymous.com), April 18, 2000.

So, the next Time one of Your Harmonics proudly announces the Arrival of another one of those ugly looking,diapered "Joys",don't act like You've just seen an Accomplishment equal to the Invention of the Salk Vaccine,but treat it what it really is,an irresponsible Breeding of human Surplus,contaminating Your drinking Water and causing EVERY Problem,we face on this "Flat"Earth.

-- Soaked in Traffic (no@mo.cum), April 18, 2000.

Jumpoff:

(May I call you Z28?)

Ok by me; although I usually go by Z [Bless AOL]. I am going through a convoluted path to get here through my home server. I am presently in the Rose City [or is it the rose bush city; or the thorn city; I can never remember these things]. Be in the outback tomorrow.

Green-ness is big in Oregon [at least the western part]. I wonder if that stems [no pun intended] from the problems that they have had. Do you remember the plant in Albany. As I recall, emissions killed things for miles [or least people said that was the case].

Best wishes,,,,

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), April 18, 2000.

Sorry, Z, I need new bifocals. I thought I was being clever, after reading your name as Z1x4x7 (1x4x7 being 28).

Do I remember the Plant at Albany? I try to forget it, but keep driving by there everytime I go visit my mom, kids, and grandkids. This makes me remember why I hate driving by.

I haven't heard about anyone being killed by it, though, except for sometimes when my passengers die from the smell.

I wonder why Portland is the "rose city"? I lived in Tyler, Texas, and it called itself "the rose capital of the world" NOw they probably call themselves "the rose capital of the Milky Way Galaxy". Odd, because the climate is so different from Portland. Like night and day.

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@echoweb.neet), April 18, 2000.

Fer God's Sake. There is only X amount of water on this earth. Figure it out. Do your research.

-- Ya drinking your (neighbors@toilet.com), April 19, 2000.

-- Ya drinking your (neighbors@toilet.com) Yes, there is only "x" amount of water on this planet. Your point being? Why not join the conversation?

JOJ

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@echoweb.neet), April 24, 2000.