Down the Drain

j0437216 What happens to the water you flush down the toilet? What about the water that goes down the drain when you shower or wash your hands? Here is a simplified look at what happens to the water we use:

1. Water from the sink, shower, toilet, and so on (now contaminated with chemicals and waste) goes down the drain and heads for a wastewater/sewage treatment plant in the Coachella Valley.

2. At the treatment plant, water goes through a primary or mechanical treatment where 60% of suspended solids are removed. Machines remove large objects including human waste, sand, gravel, rocks, oils, greases, rags, fruit, cans, and other objects that could clog or damage the equipment. These solids are usually sent to a landfill.

3. The remaining liquid goes through a secondary treatment where aerobic bacteria breaks down soap, detergent, human waste and food waste. The bacteria consume the organic components and combine the less soluble parts into blocks of sediments (which are removed).

4. Finally, the water goes through a tertiary treatment where it is filtered and disinfected so it can be released back into the environment. The treated water is released back into the environment via streams, rivers, lakes, ground, etc.

As you can imagine water treatment plants use large amounts of energy to clean the water. Unfortunately, a large portion of the water that goes into these treatment plants comes from excessive water use that did not need to go down the drain in the first place.

Many of us are in the habit of using toiletries lavishly – big dollops of shampoo, shaving cream, and toothpaste every morning. It all goes down the drain, to be dealt with by the water treatment plants. Can you use half as much? Your purchases will last twice as long, you’ll consume half as many containers, and fewer resources will be used in manufacturing and water treatment.

If we can all reduce our water usage in the bathroom by brushing our teeth without the water running, by taking shorter showers, by adding water displacement devices to our toilet tanks, or by purchasing other water saving products, we can significantly cut down the amount of energy we use to clean water at water treatment plants.

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