ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — How soon could Florida residents begin making the switch to drinking recycled storm and sewer water? Experts say we can expect the change in the next few years.
Altamonte Springs has been testing technology and gathering the data to show state leaders that it is possible.
“I am going to take you to the beginning,” said Altamonte Springs City Manager Frank Martz, as he proudly showed off the PureAlta facility. “The water comes into our system, it goes through an entire column of bio-filtration,” Martz said.
What You Need To Know
Cities in Florida are only a few years away from using recycled water for drinking
Altamonte Springs has been testing new technology and gathering data at its PureAlta facility
Once lawmakers sign off on changes, it will take time to get infrastructure in place and educate the public
The move is projected to save municipalities money and preserve a precious resource
It’s a different sequence of filtration, catching materials in water that otherwise could’ve been detected. Martz said, “Pollutants that may not have been caught in the previous processes get caught by the activated carbon.”
Martz said that once all the organic matter in the water is filtered out, then it’s time to remove any remaining inorganic substances through ultraviolet light. “This is the last part of that process,” Martz said.
The result is clean and filtered water. The water meets all requirements of the state of Florida drinking standards, but the concept of drinking it is hard to swallow for many residents.
“Altamonte Springs has already proven that you can do it, the science works, the numbers show that it is successful,” Martz said.
Altamonte Springs’ pilot program serves as a role model for others around the state who want to begin testing the water filtration technology. “There are rules and regulations to make sure this water is safe, and that this is really going to be the future for water use in the state of Florida,” said Clay Coarsey, Water Supply Planning Director at St. Johns River Water Management.
Coarsey said that although the filtered, recycled water is not flowing through homes in Florida yet, the time is approaching.
“I’d say that probably in the state of Florida, you are less than 10 years away from maybe seeing some of the smaller municipalities implementing something like this, and then probably a little bit farther for some of the larger municipalities because there is a lot of infrastructure that will have to be put in place,” Coarsey said.
Altamonte Springs wants to lead the initiative in this effort, which could save the municipality money for processing, and work towards preserving a natural resource.
“We believe over the next couple of years as the state becomes more focused on the importance of conservation, and that doesn’t mean using less, it means reusing what you have,” Martz said.
A handful of other areas in Florida are also beginning to test out the technology. PureAlta in Altamonte Springs welcomes students, community members, and other local leaders across the state to come and check out the process.