Recycled water -- a source of potable water: City of San Diego health effects study

During the late 1980's and early 1990's the City of San Diego built and operated a 1,900 m3/d (0.5 Mgal/d) wastewater pilot facility to evaluate the efficacy of a unique combination of treatment methods for the reclamation of wastewater to a quality acceptable for human consumption. The primary objective of the study was to investigate if the City's advanced wastewater treatment system could reliably reduce the contaminants of concern to levels such that the health risks posed by an assumed potable use are no greater than those associated with the present water supply. The results of this substantial research effort indicated that the processes involved can reliably produce a water of equal or better quality than that of the present raw water supply.