clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

LA Water is Full of Dinosaur Pee and Getting More Expensive

New, 15 comments

Those nice booklets from LADWP that were recently delivered to your mail slot missed one big thing: rate hikes. This month and next, customers will be invited to attend a bunch of community meetings focused on a new rate structure to be presented to City Council. One topic sure to be popping up: recycled sewage water. Microfilters, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet light, and hydrogen peroxide come together in a high-tech method that turns nasty wastewater into nice sipping water. While this isn't the "toilet-to-tap" concept DWP looked at in the past, it is based on the same simple idea of recycling used water, and hey, that's the way they do it in the OC. Engineers from the Los Angeles County Sanitation District tell LA Weekly that with Mother Earth's limited water supply draining, reusing water may be a necessary part of our future. And as for that eww factor: "The water you're drinking now - a dinosaur probably peed in it," engineer Earl Hartling said. Hmm. Extra lemon slices, please. [Tap photo via invincibleFX]
· DWP officials call for rate hike to cover expenses [LA Times]
· DWP testing a way to recycle city's wastewater into drinking water [Daily News]
· The L.A. DWP Wants You to Drink Recycled Sewage -- and Pay $20 a Year For It [LA Weekly blog]