{"id":283,"date":"2020-08-05T11:51:39","date_gmt":"2020-08-05T15:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/bmosher1-fieldherp\/?p=283"},"modified":"2020-08-05T11:51:39","modified_gmt":"2020-08-05T15:51:39","slug":"reduce-reuse-recycle-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/bmosher1-fieldherp\/2020\/08\/05\/reduce-reuse-recycle-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Water?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Laura Pinover<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Heather Gall Research Group\/Penn State<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What You Need To Know<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve all seen the stickers, \u201cThe Three R\u2019s of Life: Reduce,\nReuse, Recycle\u201d and \u201cRecycling is sexy!\u201d. Have you ever thought about recycling\nwastewater? Seems like a genius idea, right? Used water goes back to a\ntreatment plant and then is filtered right back into our toilets, bathroom\nsinks, and irrigation practices. However, studies are now showing that recycled\nwastewater doesn\u2019t always filter out emerging contaminants (EC\u2019s). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Science<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emerging contaminants are synthetic or natural chemicals,\nsuch as Estrogen, and can\u2019t always be filtered out by wastewater treatment\nfacilities. Dr. Odette Mina, a researcher at Penn State University, studied how\nirrigated wastewater that contains EC\u2019s effects vernal pools. EC\u2019s that contain\nhormones get into our wastewater from the shampoos, detergents, cosmetics, and\nprescriptions we use in our homes. Vernal pools are freshwater pools that fill\nwith water in the spring and only last a couple of months before they\nevaporate. They provide crucial breeding habitat for multiple species,\nincluding high numbers of amphibians. Up until recently, we did not know how to\ndetect low concentrations of emerging contaminants. The only studies to explain\nthe effects dealt with high concentrations of EC\u2019s. Dr. Odette Mina and her\nteam used advanced technology in their lab at Penn State and decided to see what\neffects low concentrations of EC\u2019s in irrigated wastewater would have on vernal\npool sites. The team discovered that hormonal emerging contaminants in\nwastewater, can last up to 20 days in environments. Longer lasting EC\u2019s have\nthe ability to cause endocrine disruption to amphibians breeding in vernal\npools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Penn State University\/EurekaAlert!\/AAS<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s Next?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research Odette conducted concludes that we need to take\ninto consideration where we are using our wastewater. With a push for recycled\nwastewater all throughout the environmentalism\/sustainability movement, we need\nto assess where it is safe and unsafe to use irrigated wastewater at freshwater\necosystems. We should assess what freshwater ecosystems are close to irrigated\nwastewater agricultural areas and how they may be affected. Refining our\nwastewater management practices can help filter out more EC\u2019s. Advocating for\nadvanced technology in our wastewater treatments plants can help reduce the\nrisks our freshwater ecosystems are faced with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What YOU can do! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hold local governments accountable for their spending when\nit comes to your local wastewater treatment facility. Check to see if the\nproducts you use at home contain synthetic hormones. If they do, look for\nnatural alternatives that are safer for our environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Laura Pinover What You Need To Know We\u2019ve all seen the stickers, \u201cThe Three R\u2019s of Life: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle\u201d and \u201cRecycling is sexy!\u201d. Have you ever thought about recycling wastewater? Seems like a genius idea, right? Used water … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6012,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[643422],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-herpetology-research"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/bmosher1-fieldherp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/bmosher1-fieldherp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/bmosher1-fieldherp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/bmosher1-fieldherp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6012"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/bmosher1-fieldherp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/bmosher1-fieldherp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":286,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/bmosher1-fieldherp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283\/revisions\/286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/bmosher1-fieldherp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/bmosher1-fieldherp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/bmosher1-fieldherp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}