Water Recyling: Maximizing Your Flush

On November 30th, Orange County Water District will open the world's largest plant devoted to purifying sewer water to enhance water supplies. The purified wastewater will not go directly to people's taps--that's against the law--but the treated water, which experts say is as pure as distilled water, will replenish the underground aquifers that supply water to 2.3 million people in Orange County. Water officials in Florida and Texas are also considering wastewater recycling, known as indirect potable water reuse.

Great Lakes residents should be thrilled with this project. Every water district that responsibly recycles its own water is one less threat for diversion from the Great Lakes. States with water shortages in the Southeast and West should conserve and reuse their own resources to the maximum extent possible before looking to states that are "awash in water," as Governor Bill Richardson said of Wisconsin.