What is water recycling?

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You’ve heard the words “recycled water” – but do you know what they mean? Put simply, recycled water is a tried and tested, sustainable source of drinking water.

Water recycling is used all over the world. The process involves taking highly-treated wastewater, that would normally be returned to the environment, and treating it again to such high standards that it can be used as a source for drinking water.

At the moment, a great deal of time and energy goes into treating wastewater at wastewater treatment works across the UK. This involves several stages of screening and filtration before the water is clean enough to return to rivers or the sea. It’s important to note that this process is completely separate from stormwater releases, which only occur when a treatment plant is running at full capacity and can’t process the levels of flow coming through during a storm.

Using well-tested water recycling technology, safely treated wastewater is cleaned and purified even further at a Water Recycling Plant.

  • The water first goes through a micro-filtration process to take out any remaining impurities.
  • The second stage is called reverse osmosis, where dissolved salts are removed by pushing the water at high pressure through tiny holes more than 50,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
  • This is followed by Ultra Violet light treatment which disinfects water by killing micro-organisms including bacteria, viruses and tiny parasites called protazoa – UV technology is already widely used in the UK and is part of the process we use to treat water to drinking standards at our Water Treatment Works.
  • The water recycling process cleans water to such an extent that minerals like magnesium and calcium will need to be added back, so that it is closer to the quality of our existing spring water.

It is this purified recycled water which could be added to Havant Thicket Reservoir in the future. More information, including videos to explain the water recycling treatment process in further detail, can be found on the Southern Water recycling webpages.

You can also visit our webpage explaining how Havant Thicket Reservoir will operate, including if recycled water is added to it.

You’ve heard the words “recycled water” – but do you know what they mean? Put simply, recycled water is a tried and tested, sustainable source of drinking water.

Water recycling is used all over the world. The process involves taking highly-treated wastewater, that would normally be returned to the environment, and treating it again to such high standards that it can be used as a source for drinking water.

At the moment, a great deal of time and energy goes into treating wastewater at wastewater treatment works across the UK. This involves several stages of screening and filtration before the water is clean enough to return to rivers or the sea. It’s important to note that this process is completely separate from stormwater releases, which only occur when a treatment plant is running at full capacity and can’t process the levels of flow coming through during a storm.

Using well-tested water recycling technology, safely treated wastewater is cleaned and purified even further at a Water Recycling Plant.

  • The water first goes through a micro-filtration process to take out any remaining impurities.
  • The second stage is called reverse osmosis, where dissolved salts are removed by pushing the water at high pressure through tiny holes more than 50,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
  • This is followed by Ultra Violet light treatment which disinfects water by killing micro-organisms including bacteria, viruses and tiny parasites called protazoa – UV technology is already widely used in the UK and is part of the process we use to treat water to drinking standards at our Water Treatment Works.
  • The water recycling process cleans water to such an extent that minerals like magnesium and calcium will need to be added back, so that it is closer to the quality of our existing spring water.

It is this purified recycled water which could be added to Havant Thicket Reservoir in the future. More information, including videos to explain the water recycling treatment process in further detail, can be found on the Southern Water recycling webpages.

You can also visit our webpage explaining how Havant Thicket Reservoir will operate, including if recycled water is added to it.

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  • Share Does the processing of recycled water deal with hormones in the water such as Oestradiol from the contraceptive pill, which excreted by women in their urine, and endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A? on Facebook Share Does the processing of recycled water deal with hormones in the water such as Oestradiol from the contraceptive pill, which excreted by women in their urine, and endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A? on Twitter Share Does the processing of recycled water deal with hormones in the water such as Oestradiol from the contraceptive pill, which excreted by women in their urine, and endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A? on Linkedin Email Does the processing of recycled water deal with hormones in the water such as Oestradiol from the contraceptive pill, which excreted by women in their urine, and endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A? link

    Does the processing of recycled water deal with hormones in the water such as Oestradiol from the contraceptive pill, which excreted by women in their urine, and endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A?

    j_whitney asked 9 months ago

    Many thanks for your question.

    Water recycling is a tried and tested process, where highly-treated wastewater, that would normally be returned to the natural environment, would instead be further treated to a very high standard to provide a source of water. It would then be treated again to strict drinking water quality standards before being supplied to customers.

    Water recycling is used extensively in other parts of the world, such as California in the USA and Singapore in Asia, to provide a sustainable source of drinking water.

    Water recycling plants use advanced techniques to produce highly-purified source water. Special membranes are used to remove salts and a range of other impurities. The process includes reverse osmosis, where water is forced through tiny membranes 50,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, to take out dissolved salts and impurities, such as bacteria, hormones from pharmaceuticals, and PFAS, so called ‘forever chemicals’. In fact, so much is removed from the water that some essential minerals like calcium and magnesium have to be added back in to achieve the water quality customers are used to.

    If the Hampshire Water Transfer and Water Recycling Project is approved, it would be the first UK scheme to use a Full Advanced Treatment process – including micro-filtration, reverse osmosis, and UV Advanced Oxidation Process. More details can be found online found at: Water recycling hub (southernwater.co.uk).

  • Share What is the hardness factor for water supplied to Southsea PO4 8FB please, for adjustment of hardness in a dishwasher? on Facebook Share What is the hardness factor for water supplied to Southsea PO4 8FB please, for adjustment of hardness in a dishwasher? on Twitter Share What is the hardness factor for water supplied to Southsea PO4 8FB please, for adjustment of hardness in a dishwasher? on Linkedin Email What is the hardness factor for water supplied to Southsea PO4 8FB please, for adjustment of hardness in a dishwasher? link

    What is the hardness factor for water supplied to Southsea PO4 8FB please, for adjustment of hardness in a dishwasher?

    Barrie Welham-Jones asked 11 months ago

    Hi there, many thanks for your question. Please visit our webpage, where you can get further detail on water quality in your area. 

    Water Quality Results in Your Area | Portsmouth Water 

    All the best.