"A crucial aquifer is running low, so officials are pumping in treated sewage. It’s an increasingly common strategy as heavy demand and climate change strain water supplies."
"Virginia doesn’t have a megadrought like some parts of the United States, but it has water problems all the same: Homes and businesses in the Hampton Roads region, in the southeastern corner of the state, are drawing groundwater faster than it can be replenished. The situation has gotten so bad that the earth is sinking in some places.
Officials, though, think they might have found a solution in the sewers. Every day, the region’s sanitation system takes a million gallons of treated wastewater and pumps it back into the Potomac Aquifer, a major source of drinking water for the area. And there are plans to increase that to 100 million gallons in the coming years.
Around the country, cities and towns are increasingly turning to treated wastewater to augment their supplies of drinking water. The number of drinking-water reuse projects has quadrupled over the past two decades, according to data collected by the National Alliance for Water Innovation, a research program funded by the United States Department of Energy."
Elena Shao reports for the New York Times October 20, 2022.
SEE ALSO:
"Colorado To Reuse Water For Drinking, Creating New Supply" (AP)
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