黑料社

SAN FRANCISCO 鈥� With its golden hue and light fruity flavor, the beer being sipped by Aaron Tartakovsky looks and tastes just like many others. But it contains an unusual ingredient: recycled wastewater from a San Francisco skyscraper.

The beverage was brewed to raise public awareness of the 鈥渦ntapped鈥� potential of water sources that might seem unsavory at first glance, at a time when the American West is struggling with chronic drought exacerbated by global warming, explains Tartakovsky.

鈥淏eer has brought people together basically since the dawn of human civilization,鈥� the boss of recycling company told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Manufacturing the drink is an 鈥渋ncredible medium鈥� to show the general public that 鈥渋n this age of climate change鈥� recycled water is a really great way to make sure that our communities are secure for generations to come.鈥�

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The beer uses water derived from the showers, sinks, and washing machines of a San Francisco apartment building containing 550 homes.

Epic Cleantec treats the building鈥檚 wastewater in the basement, returning much of it to the 40 floors above to be reused in flushing toilets or the irrigation system.

California law prohibits redirecting the treated water to taps for drinking.

But once filtered, the water is transformed from a murky, thick gray to a crystal-clear liquid that will 鈥渕eet or exceed federal drinking quality standards,鈥� says Tartakovsky.

To prove it, he has teamed up with a brewery to create Epic OneWater Brew, a drink inspired by German Kolsch beers.

鈥楴o difference鈥�

Epic Cleantec purifies the water in three stages.

Firstly, bacteria target contaminants in the liquid, similar to how microbes in the human stomach work on the food and drink we consume.

Then the water is filtered through membranes measuring just one-thousandth of the diameter of a human hair. It is finally disinfected with ultraviolet light and chlorine.

The results surprised Chris Garrett, boss of the Devil鈥檚 Canyon brewery, which has produced 7,200 cans of beer using water from the building.

In fact, he says, the treated wastewater probably provides 鈥渁 cleaner slate鈥� than the municipal water he usually uses for brewing beer鈥攁nd there is no discernible change in taste.

鈥淭here literally is no difference, not discernible by anyone, including people that I know that are beer snobs,鈥� said Garrett, who has run blind tastings.

Still, California law currently prevents the two companies from marketing or selling the beer commercially.

They hope that can be changed, and have been distributing cans free of charge during major events such as the recent Climate Week in New York.

鈥淚 think what our beer project has shown people is that the public is a lot more ready for recycled water than we give them credit for,鈥� says Tartakovsky, who served the beer at his own wedding.

Direct reuse

In parts of the United States, such as Scottsdale in Arizona, treated wastewater has long been recycled for watering golf courses and crops.

In Orange County, California, treated water is pumped into the ground, where it enters underground aquifers before eventually being returned to the taps.

But due to chronic drought, the region鈥檚 water sources are drying up鈥攊ncluding the vital Colorado River, relied upon by millions of Americans.

Authorities are exploring ways to recycle wastewater for direct reuse, without having to first return it to the natural environment.

Following Colorado last year, California plans to adopt new measures to pursue this technology before the end of 2023.

Known as 鈥渄irect potable reuse,鈥� the practice has been utilized for decades in Windhoek, a city in the southwestern African desert of Namibia.