Washington County officials know the idea of drinking treated wastewater can be hard to stomach for some. They’re hoping a new $7 million demonstration facility can help get southern Utahns past that “ick factor.” The Washington County Water Conservancy District is designing the facility to allow visitors see — and taste — the purification process firsthand in hopes of building public confidence in recycled water long before the district’s full-scale treatment facility comes online. “We want to be transparent,” said Zach Renstrom, district general manager. “People will be able to come [to the facility] and actually see the process … and we will describe all the different methods that we have to go through to get to that [drinkable] standard.” 

Other water recycling news:

• The Nevada Independent (Las Vegas): Nevada’s first wastewater-to-drinking-water plant breaks ground in Reno
• Arizona Daily Star (Tucson): Making chips takes water. Arizona wants to reuse it