How do we grow people so dumb? Today, after exhaustive testing, our city began reusing effluent water from our sewage treatment plant. It will add 5 million gallons per day to our fresh water supply. We have catastrophic drought--the lakes from which we get our water are at 23% capacity, up about a half a percentage point after a good rain. On a hot day, we lose more to evaporation than to usage. We are expecting temps over 100 the next few days, with no rain in sight; ergo, within a few days, the lake levels will be down at least as much as they gained. Naturally, reuse of sewage water is a controversial topic. Some things to consider, however, when evaluating the gross factor. 1. Our treated sewage goes into a river that feeds into lakes from which other municipalities have gotten their water for years. 2. Our water supply comes from very dirty lakes that contain lots of organic matter (like dead fish), pesticides and fertilizer run off from both agricultural and domestic usage, and whatever run off oil companies havent managed to contain (we are in oil production country and have been for a century). In order to make our water safe and meet EPA standards, it has to be put through an exceedingly thorough treatment process. 3. Given what I noted in number 2, the water we get from our lakes is more contaminated than the water we are now getting from our sewage treatment plant BEFORE it is put through the final regular treatment process that allows it to flow into our homes. OK, still, I understand some folks will think it is gross or unsafe. The latter is not factual, but hey, how much do we rely on factual info these days? So, one of the local TV affiliates interviews a few people to get their opinion. A couple of folks say it is a good idea to use the sewage water, but they will drink bottled water, using the tap water for cleaning, bathing, etc. One responds she will drink tap water, no problem. NOW, let us return to my original question about how we grow people this dumb. One of the women interviewed responds that she thinks it is terrible and that instead of using treated sewage water, we should use the supply from our small water theme park to fill our lakes up more. The water them park probably uses about as much water as a couple of dozen pools and, because of our drought, the city leaders (the city owns the park) elected to only keep it open if all the water is trucked in from places that do not use our water supply. First, the lady who proffered such an erudite opinion on the subject must not know that the water comes from elsewhere. Second, how the heck did she get through the third grade and suck that bad at math? The water from the theme park, even if it did come from our local supply, if put into the lakes, would be the equivalent of a shot glass added to an Olympic size pool. This lady was in her 50s and, she likely drives an automobile and votes. In her hands, both an internal combustion driven vehicle (or a tricycle) and the poll booth are dangerous places. I am wondering how her brain works well enough to perform metabolism and other bodily functions. (Yep, I know, different parts of the brain). A good friend often reminds me it is not against the law to be crazy. I should remind myself daily it is not against the law to be stupid.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 00:18:37 +0000
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