Reworking London's 7 sets of kidneys myth ...

Excerpt from the Australian:

Researchers debate London's lesson on reuse of water

6 November 2008

Experts are divided on whether the drinking of recycled water from rivers in London and elsewhere is comparable with what is proposed for southeast Queensland.

University of NSW Water Research Centre contaminants researcher Stuart Khan said experience overseas had demonstrated the safety of drinking recycled water.

"London gets its water from the Thames River and there are 380 sewage treatment plants upstream from London which are putting effluent into the river," Dr Khan said.

"Despite more than 40 years' experience, no clear deleterious health effects from the deliberate recycling of purified water to a dam or river source of an urban water supply system have been observed."

Dr Khan said treatment processes being used in Queensland, including reverse osmosis and oxidation, were highly effective barriers to potential contaminants.

Australian National University microbiologist Peter Collignon said London and other centres that used recycled water from rivers for drinking -- such as Richmond in NSW -- could not be compared with what was planned for southeast Queensland.

"These places don't use sewage as a primary source of water," Professor Collignon said. "They use rivers as water sources, and rivers have much lower levels of potentially dangerous microbes and drugs than sewage.

"Sewage put into the rivers upstream has been in the rivers a long time and it's been heavily diluted by the time it gets to the people who drink the water after it is put through a filtering process. That is a long way from what will be happening in Queensland."

See - Debating London.

Do you think Dr Khan has visited all 380 upstream sewage plants?

London clearly is an example of unplanned potable reuse - certain not a standard to be followed.

They don't think they have recycled water.

Remember this: "Thames Water said that was not "strictly true" given it did not operate any water reuse schemes".

And anyone who has spent any time in London knows the saying - 'if you want to get pregnant, leave London' ...