'Toilet to taps' program moves ahead here

Jul. 30—Scottsdale already has what can be called a "toilet to tees" program that "recycles" wastewater and sends it to golf courses for watering their greens.

Someday in the not-too-distant future, the city may expand to a "toilet to taps" full-blown water loop.

"Would I feel comfortable drinking that?" said the owner of a five-star Scottsdale restaurant who asked not to be named.

"Probably not."

In a story on Gilbert's Desert Monks Brewing Company using treated wastewater from Scottsdale for two new beers, the New York Times noted the city has a 30-year history of "reclaiming" water.

And the city has big plans, according to the July 22 story:

"Scottsdale isn't currently sending that water into the drinking supply, but Brian Biesemeyer, the executive director of Scottsdale Water, said that could change in two or three years."

Valerie Schneider, a spokeswoman for Scottsdale Water, confirmed the New York Times got that right.

"Scottsdale Water is the only facility in Arizona currently permitted for a pilot program of ultra-purified, recycled water," she said.

"We have been purifying our sewer water since the 1990s to inject into our aquifer and for irrigation use."

Though the city has been treating wastewater to drinking-water quality, the public has only been sampling it over the last four years, with groups touring Scottsdale Water's facility invited to try the cutting edge in water technology.

Now, Schneider noted, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is revising its codes governing reclaimed water systems.

"Once this is finalized, Scottsdale Water is prepared to take the next steps in distributing this water into our drinking water system," Schneider said.

"While we don't have a specific timeline on this, ADEQ estimates they will file notice of the proposed rulemaking by Dec. 31, 2023, but is subject to change."

Phoenix also is getting into the "toilet to tap" effort.

A Phoienix City Council report earlier this year shows it is spending millions on "restoring and upgrading the Cave Creek Water Reclamation Plant (CCWRP) to augment the City's water resources by taking the region's generated wastewater and treating it to potable water standards."

While using recycled water for beer may be cute and charming and be useful in "getting people beyond the 'ick' factor," the New York Times story suggests putting it into public drinking systems could be a game changer.

"As water sources, particularly in the western United States, dry up from overuse, drought and climate change," the story notes, "supporters of direct potable reuse — the use of treated wastewater in the drinking water supply — are pitching it as part of the solution."

Desert Monks Brewing was introduced to reclaimed Scottsdale water during the city's annual One Water Brewing Showcase, which again in November "will utilize our ultra-purified, recycled water for beer making," according to Schneider.

Scottsdale's Goldwater Brewery is scheduled to be part of that event, but Desert Monks Brewing is the only brewery using Scottsdale's reclaimed water on a permanent basis.

Other than beer festivals and visitor tastings, Scottsdale's recycled water is currently used for irrigation of golf courses. Excess treated wastewater is injected into the city's water storage system, Schneider said.

Is it possible that — if and when purified wastewater becomes part of the city's drinking water system — Scottsdale will have an "infinite loop" of water, without the need for the Colorado River and other sources?

Not likely, Schneider said.

"Scottsdale residents and businesses use a majority of their water outdoors — 60-70% of all water use. This water never comes back to the city via the sewage system; that water is lost to vegetation and the ground so it can't get recycled," Schneider said.

"So, while there may be a day that all the sewage water gets ultra purified and recycled back into the drinking water system, this wouldn't be enough to supply the demands of the city due to what's lost during the cycle. We'll still need additional water sources."

Noting Scottsdale Water has won many awards (Utility of the Future Today, WateReuse Program of the Year, Excellence in Action), some Scottsdale elected officials say they tried the treated wastewater — and they like it.

"It is excellent," Mayor David Ortega said, of the recycled water he sampled, "free from minerals — and perfect for brewing beer."

"I've sampled it and thought it tasted like ordinary tap water," Councilman Barry Graham said.

Councilwoman Betty Janik went even further: "I have tasted the recycled water several times. The taste is pure and refreshing.

"It is of the highest quality and passes all the chemical analysis required for drinking water," Janik added.

But putting wastewater — even highly treated and refined — in the drinking water system?

"Knowing what I know about Scottsdale Water's process and standards," Graham said, "it's probably something Scottsdale residents would consider in the unlikely event we must take stricter and stricter water-cutting measures."

The feeling of Janik, who studied chemistry at the University of Illinois Chicago and later taught math and science, can be summed up in three words: Let's do this.

"I trust the science that validates the integrity of this water," she said.

"Better living through chemistry!"

Ortega sees a Scottsdale future highlighted by treated wastewater.

"I expect once ADEQ approves Scottsdale (recycled) water to the tap, kids will pop-up lemonade stands city wide, especially all summer," the mayor said.

"Who knows? Homemade lemonade may outsell beer."