Dear Editor,
A couple of recent news articles have triggered my thoughts about wastewater treatment.
My wife Margie and I live part time in Placerville, El Dorado County, California.
The El Dorado Irrigation District provides drinking water and sewage treatment for a major portion of the county. See: http://www.eid.org/our-services/recycled-water, and http://www.eid.org/our-services/recycled-water/regulations.
A key part of its program since the late 1970s utilizes recycled water from two of its sewage treatment plants to provide recycled irrigation water to some industrial sites, golf courses and homes. It pumps recycled water from a sewage treatment plant up to a reservoir (actually a lake). The recycled water is then fed downhill to the users.
Homes utilizing recycled irrigation water have two water systems: one for drinking water and one for irrigation. There are two sets of pipes, one colored blue for drinking water and another colored purple for irrigation water.
With the new sewage plant, I urge you to commit to a recycled water use plan. This plan should consider pumping recycled water from the new plant to Ken’s Lake, with taps along the way for the golf course, Old Spanish Trail Arena, and city and county parks.
Since many of the sewage collection lines are to be replaced with the new plant, why not put the recycled water pipes in the same hole? Sure could save a lot of money and construction grief.
In addition, city and county building codes should be amended to require all new homes, businesses, etc., to install separate drinking water and irrigation systems, even though recycled water may not be available to them at the time of construction.
In Southern California where water is very scarce, recycled water is now being fed directly to drinking water taps, called TTT or T-cubed, Toilet-To-Tap.
Let’s not let this great opportunity pass us up. Remember the grief that we are all experiencing because of the lack of future planning for Canyonlands Field. Please do not let this happen again. Now is the time to step forward and take action. The wheel does not have to be reinvented.
