EARTH: Treated water that's too pure lets arsenic sneak in
American Geosciences Institute
Alexandria, VA - In an effort to reduce water use in California, communities are turning to wastewater purification. This wastewater is being made so pure that it's actually causing problems: EARTH Magazine reports on a new study that showed that ultra-purified water allowed minute amounts of arsenic to leach from the surrounding bedrock into the water.
The study was conducted on water from the Orange County Water District,
which purifies wastewater with a comprehensive process including microfiltration,
reverse osmosis and UV light treatments. That purified water is then injected
into a local aquifer. Over an approximately six-month residence time,
that purified water accumulated trace amounts of arsenic. Geoscientists
were called in to help solve the mystery of its occurrence. Learn the
source of the arsenic and how the local geology and water chemistry interacted
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The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society's use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment.