Water Watch International

Sustainable wastewater recycling refers to a method of processing wastewater using aquatic plants to absorb nitrates, phosphates, heavy metals and other pollutants. 

The treated wastewater is then recovered and returned to the ground or aquifer.  The way wastewater is generally processed in the United States presently (2003), is to use mechanical ponds and digesters to treat the wastewater to a high degree and then pump the treated water off the coast at the rate of hundreds of millions of gallons per day.  

The biggest drawback to this methodology is the gradual pumping out of our water supplies in aquifers around the country faster than the natural process of regeneration.  The solution is to process the wastewater to a high degree and return it to the ground.  This is the way nature does it, as everything in nature is recycled.  

There are several methods of sustainable wastewater processing.  The following are examples of these systems.

ALGAL TURF SCRUBBER SYSTEM (ATS) This system is presently being used in the U.S. and Mexico in various applications and forms. It's cheap and highly effective.  For more information go to page 3 of WaterWatch News, or the Education page.  We will be adding more information about these exciting new technologies in the near future.