What Does Recycled Wastewater Taste Like?

According to a study done by the University of California, Riverside (UCR), recycled wastewater tastes very similar to bottled water and is in fact more preferred over the mineral-rich tap water used in the experiment.

Many studies were already done before ensuring the public that drinking recycled wastewater was safe, with 6 California water agencies already having introduced it into California's drinking water system with a process called Indirect Potable Reuse (IDR). However, this marks the first study to test the taste of said recycled wastewater. The researchers behind the study hope that the results can help dispel the notion that recycled
 wastewater and recycled water in general is disgusting.

The study had 143 participants who were asked to compare the wastewater treated through IDR, conventional groundwater-based tap water, and commercially available bottled water. All were given to participants in similar cups and were unmarked, making the participants blind as to where the water in each cup came from. Participants were asked rank the water sample from one to five in categories including, texture, smell, and most importantly, taste.

Unlike the experiments you would do in middle school or Freshman year of High School, the researchers behind the blind taste test made sure to consider the genetical and personal differences that would affect how participants ranked the samples. The study found that people preferred the IDR-treated wastewater and bottled water more over the groundwater-based tap water. The researchers hypothesized that this may be because the similarity in how the wastewater and bottled water are treated.

For more information about this study go to:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180313084219.htm

Bottled Water Image: http://kidspressmagazine.com/science-for-kids/misc/misc/bottled-water-facts.html

Waste Water Image: https://www.spectro.com/industries/environmental/waste-water

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