People need to be ‘less squeamish’ about drinking water taken from sewage treatment plants, the head of the Environment Agency has said.
Water companies are planning “toilet-to-tap” systems, also known as water recycling, to turn sewage from lavatories into drinking water by treating it.
By 2030, toilet water could be deposited into rivers near treatment plants so it can be collected and processed as drinking water.
‘Sir’ James Bevan said the “unpopular” move would help protect the UK’s water supply.
Bevan said drinking water reprocessed from sewage is “perfectly safe and healthy, but not something many people fancy”.
In 2013, Thames Water announced plans to use recycled toilet waste in London’s tap water, adding it hoped to implement a wastewater recycling scheme by 2025.
The advice comes as water supplies are placed under strain due to climate change.
Bevan wrote that people need to “change the way they think about water”, and “treat it as a precious resource, not a free good”.
“We need to remember where it comes from: when we turn on the tap, what comes out started in a river, lake or aquifer. The more we take, the more we drain those sources and put stress on nature and wildlife.
“If we are going to get there, we are all going to have to think differently. Some of these measures will be unpopular, so future governments will need to show political will.”
Lead Correspondent | David Clews is the Lead Correspondent for UNN, with over 20 years of political/campaigning experience and a wealth of social media and communication skills David gets to the heart of what is really important to the real people of the UK.
Keep up to date with all of David & UN’s work by linking up with us on our Social Media Channels by Clicking Here Now: https://unitynewsnetwork.co.uk/our-social-media-links/
