Drink Up: As Consumers Embrace Wastewater Beer, A Solution To Drought Is Emerging

One of the world’s favorite beverages could be the key to popularizing an effective, yet often misunderstood, wastewater treatment practice and better conserve previous drinking resources.

“Utilities have spent decades trying to convince U.S. cities and towns that drinking recycled water is safe, but proposals for so-called ‘toilet-to-tap’ systems have stirred up resistance and backlash,” BNN Bloomberg reported. “In response, advocates are increasingly turning to beer as a go-to strategy for helping consumers overcome the yuck factor. And as more cities find themselves squeezed between growing populations and drought-stressed water supplies — making potable reuse a more attractive, if not inescapable option — wastewater beers are likely to proliferate in the years ahead.”