A proposed £1.2bn scheme to recycle effluent from the sewage system and turn it in to drinking water has been criticised as a threat to the environment and a potential costly “white elephant”.
Southern Water wants to treat effluent – wastewater from the sewage system – at a plant at Havant in Hampshire and pipe it into a nearby spring-fed reservoir to boost water supplies during droughts. The scheme would ensure less water is extracted from two rare chalk streams: the Rivers Test and Itchen.
It would be the first reservoir in the country to use recycled water derived from effluent to supplement its levels. Regulators says effluent recycling is successfully used overseas, providing plentiful and safe supplies, but campaigners say there are more environmentally friendly options.
Why are you sure it would be? England’s rivers are full of sewage right now. The water companies have hardly proved their ability to keep water safe lately.
…because you don’t spend 1.2bn to do what you can do for free. The problem now is there isn’t enough treatment capacity and shit gets dumped into waterways raw. If you’re happy polluting, you just keep doing that. You don’t build something that does a bad job and get the same result.