Cleaner, Yes; But Don’t Drink Water
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Del.icio.usUpgrades and improvements with a price tag of $26.7 million are in the works for Wahiawa Wastewater Treatment Plant so that it can meet the state’s highest recyclable water requirements. As part of the project, the plant will soon house the city’s first Membrane Bioreactor (MBR), which processes the sewage and wastewater collected by the plant for use as recycled water.
“Right now the water is classified as R2, which restricts its uses,” explained Markus Owens, public communications officer with the city Department of Environmental Services. “This MBR will clean it even cleaner and will bring it up to R1 quality water, which has very little restrictions on its reuse.”
Not to worry; Owens confirmed that this is not a “toilet to tap” program as is being tried in some parts of the nation. The recycled water will be available solely for use in agriculture, landscaping, irrigation and golf courses.
“You would think the recycled water was tap water by looking at the clearness of it,” he said. “It’s very clear, but there will be some nutrients still in there.”
All of the golf courses on the Leeward side are currently being nourished with water from treatment plants, said Owen. “Right now there’s a lot of uses that could come out of this (MBR facility), depending on if we have something that’s piped down to Mililani or if we work out a deal that Schofield needs it or if we send it to the agricultural areas in that area.”
Currently, Wahiawa’s treated water is released into the nearby reservoir. Once the Board of Water Supply finds users, the water will instead be sent to special holding tanks, according to Department of Health regulations, and then pumped through pipes to its intended location.
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