News
Thames Water Trials Turning Sewage Into Drinking Water
In an attempt to help protect the capital from running out of water, Thames Water has announced that it is now looking into turning sewage into drinking water, warning that in around 25 years’ time projected population growth will mean a shortfall of 351 million litres of water a day between what’s available and what’s being used.
Figures from the supplier suggest that London could be hit with a £330 million-a-day loss to its economy if big changes are not pushed through in order to secure its water supply, the London Evening Standard reports.
It now has plans in mind to open the UK’s first effluent reuse plant in Edmonton at the Deephams Sewage Treatment Works, in order to make sewage waste clean enough for us all to drink. Some 45 million litres each day will enter the water system thanks to the plant taking treated sewage waste and passing it through a desalination membrane in order to clean it.
Once this has taken place, it will be mixed with reservoir water before being treated once more and then pumped back into the network.
Not only that but the supplier has also breathed new life into plans to build a new £1.7 billion reservoir in Oxfordshire, which the government rejected back in 2011. It intends to ship water down the Thames along the Oxford Canal to the capital to keep the taps flowing.
A spokesman from Thames Water was quoted by the news source as saying: “More needs to be done to protect Londoners from the risk of severe drought. Restrictions on water use in London alone could cost more than £300 million a day.”
Those of you already concerned about the impact that your water usage is having on the environment and who are keen to do all they can to protect this precious resource of ours now and into the future might want to look into commercial water saving strategies such as rainwater harvesting.
This is the process of collecting and storing the rainwater that’s deposited on the roof of your business, water that is then filtered and reused instead of your mains water. You can use rainwater for toilet flushing, vehicle washing, laundry and more, so it could certainly be worth looking into if you want to boost your green credentials and save yourself some money into the bargain.
As an alternative, you could look into water recycling, which is one of the best and most efficient ways for your company to save money on water. This process involves taking the oft-discarded water from typical activities like toilet flushing or irrigation and using it to save you money on valuable mains water.
The water is cleaned and returned to the rivers, where it can then be reused for irrigation and so on, or drinking water once it’s been properly treated.