Why Virginia is a poor example to use ...

The Mayor recently wrote about the impact on her of the recycled sewage facility in Fairfax County in the US:

"That is why I am advocating Toowoomba build an Advanced Water Treatment plant (AWT) to recycle our water for indirect potable reuse. I’ve seen this science at work, in Singapore and Orange County in the US, but the defining place for me was the facility I inspected at Upper Occoquan, Fairfax County in the US. There they have been recycling wastewater since 1978."

See - Mayor Thorley online.

But just how good is their testing regime?

The Fairfax County 2004 Annual Report states:

Q. What is the short answer to "how's my water quality?"

A. This report contains a lot of information and data. But the short answer is that of the over 120 contaminants we test for, we found very few. Those found were in negligible amounts that are well below EPA's maximum contaminant levels.

Over 120 contaminants? Out of over 80,000 possible contaminants in the water.

What about the rest?

See - Virginia County 2004 Annual Report.