Some people call it reclaimed water, others call it wastewater, while still others call it just plain treated sewage. Whatever we call it, everyone creates wastewater but few think about it until they are asked to pay more to treat it.
The Wasatch Front’s fast-growing population, changing conditions and new technology are spurring the Utah Division of Water Quality to look at increasing water quality standards, and this means that most of Utah’s publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) will need to invest large sums in upgrading their plants and increase rates to pay for it.
Increased wastewater treatment levels are being sought to improve water quality, but no one really knows to what extent it will improve and what difference it will make to ecosystems.