On 11/30/2015 12:03 PM, songbird wrote [in part]:
I also wrote in part:

[snipped]


Much of the cost of treating reclaimed water is paid by the users -- the
parks, golf courses, home-owner association greenbelts. The price of
reclaimed water is about 75% of the cost of potable water, and there are
no drought-imposed restrictions on how much a customer may use. During
the current drought, the demand for reclaimed water approximately equals
the supply. The demand to pour that water into Malibu Creek creates a
shortfall in the supply.

all of the water is then being used and is in
some manner contributing to ground water recharging
and stream flows so to me that's much better than
just sending it out to sea.

i guess i'd rather have a stream flowing than not
even if it means some costs are a little higher.

In this area, ground water recharging is meaningless. The soils and
subsoils are so mineralized that any springs or wells are unsuitable
even for wildlife to drink and, in some cases, not even suitable for
irrigation. Before my area was served by the California Water Project
aqueduct, ranchers here would pump water into enameled basins and let it
stand in the sun for several day just to get rid of the hydrogen sulfide.

Note that, while users of reclaimed water pay much of the cost of
treating it, those of us who create sewage pay much more of the cost.


In those terms, it is safe. That is why making the flow even cleaner
downstream from the sewage plant than it is upstream is so outrageous.

my guess is that they really can't release water from
any point in the process earlier without causing an
environmental problem. many of the more modern treatment
plants have things in place to recapture the various
chemicals/additives used and the very last part of the
water treatment is an UV flash to kill off any
remaining bacteria/virii. skipping that would be a
bad idea, especially in a warm climate.

The residents downstream from the sewage plant are the problem. They
want the plant not only to treat sewage almost to the quality of
drinking water, but they also want the plant to treat the natural flow
from upstream in Malibu Creek to the same standard.

[snipped]

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary