Storm water "recharged" into drinking water

William Atkins
Thursday, 17 September 2009 18:15

Science - Health

Australian scientists prove that stormwater can be filtered with natural and human-engineered means so that it is as safe as water purified by traditional means. As an added plus, the process is less expensive and causes fewer environmental concerns that usual water treatment processes. So, drink up!


The CSIRO scientists tested their process by first collecting storm water (rain water) and passing it through natural “in-stream storage” and “holding storage,” for twenty days, to remove gross pollutants.

The water was then send through a natural filter, either a reed bed or a wetland, for ten days, so that unwanted particles would settle out through aerobic degradation, phytoremediation, and volatilisation.

The water was, then, sent through injection wells into a limestone aquifer for further filtration, over a six-month period.

The 160-meter underground aquifer was used to slowly filter the water for a second time, using anaerobic degradation and pathogen attenuation.



[Image credit (copyright CSIRO Land and Water)—CSIRO: Schematic representation of the processes for turning stormwater into drinking water.]

The porous aquifer is located in the city of Salisbury, Northern Adelaide Plains, South Australia.

At that point, after months of slow filtration, the water was tested by accredited laboratories of the National Association of Testing Authorities' (NATA).

The process continues on page two.