So what changed?
The processing plant at the centre recycles sewage water and whiles the process is different to that of processing drinking water, it became clear to me that the product at the other end was safe to drink. Haven said that, I'm not quite sure why bottled water is still being sold and why mothers are advised to boil water before giving to babies. This will suggest that perhaps the pipes through which the water travels are not without contaminants and neither is the final product or perhaps as no process is ever 100% efficient, it's more of a precautionary advise to boil or filter tap water before drinking.
I wont go through the whole sewage purification process as I'll like to encourage you to visit your nearest recycling center to better appreciate the efficiency of this well thought out recycling process. One thing I was really impressed by is the thought that has gone into reducing the carbon foot print of the process and the fact that water purification is achieved by a pure biological process using biological filters.
The micro organisms displayed on the boards above are a selection of the micro organisms found on the stones which purify the water and the image on the right is the biofilters. The overall recycling time for the purification process from sewage to river is about 24 - 36hrs.
One of the major challenges currently facing the recycling industry is to recycle the landfill waste product from the sewage?
The image on the top left is all the waste that is removed from the sewage and on the right is a tomato plant growing from the seed in poo from the sewage. How interesting!Image on the bottom right is excess grit used in construction of roads and buildings. The waste product on the left goes to land fill and the industry is in need of new innovation to recycle it into a useful product.
The water that eventually comes out into the river at the end of the process is as good as new and the fishes love it. .
