4 Innovations Transforming Wastewater into Clean H20Dirty water gets a makeover with these four creative ways of harnessing waste into potable water.May 25, 2015Tags:Water,Wastewater,Clean,H20

This glass of refreshing water could very well have been sourced from wastewater. [Shutterstock]Your face may cringe when you think about drinking sewage water, but innovations are underway to make wastewater safe for consumption.Clean and potable water is a precious commodity, which is why scientists and environmentalists are looking towards transforming dirty water into tasty and clean H20. The wastewater to clean water push shines a light on sustainability, showing how a mix of science plus the drive to maximize existing resources, results in a cleaner and healthier planet for all.1. RAISING A TOAST TO BEER MADE FROM TREATED WASTEWATERIf you are of drinking age and looking for a nice cool lager, the next beer you drink could contain treated wastewater. In Oregon, the local governments environmental panel has OKd a plan forlocal breweries to use recycled sewage water. The first brewery up to bat is the Oregon Brew Crew that will receive the repurposed water from the utility company Clean Water Services. Further east in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a wastewater engineer - Theera Ratarasarn merged his day job with his hobby of home beer brewing with his creation aptly namedActivated Sludge Wheat Ale. The beer was reviewed by professional testers and received 7 out of 10 stars!

Cheers! [Shutterstock]2. BILL GATES ENDORSES WATER MADE FROM SEWAGEMicrosoft founder Bill Gates is on the bandwagon for clean water. The philanthropist is singing the praises of theJanicki Omniprocessor, a machine which burns human waste to produce water and electricity. Gate explained in his blog posts that developing safe, affordable ways to get rid of human waste will prevent hundreds of thousands of sanitation-related deaths, and help more children around the world grow up healthy and strong.3. THE TEABAG THAT PURIFIES DIRTY WATERUsing nanotechnology, researchers from South Africa have created atea bag filterthat fits into a water bottle and rids water of contaminants and bacteria. One bag can be used to filter up to 1 liter of water and is super cheap, costing less than half a penny to produce!

New nanotechnology packaged into a simple tea bag has the ability to purify water.[Shutterstock]4. ALGAE AS A NATURAL AND ORGANIC WAY TO PRODUCECLEAN H20Green technology is in Mother Natures hands as an engineering grad student and professor found out when they grewalgae in wastewater. They were originally looking at algaes potential for creating biofuel and happened upon this clean water solution. Heres how it works: When placed in dirty water, the algae removes ammonia, phosphate and nitrate, significantly reducing the pathogen load. Afterwards a centrifuge removes the algae; and an ultraviolet radiation system rids any leftover pathogens. All that remains for clean, potable water is to adjust the pH level. The green tech is already being commissioned by nonprofits and organizations as a cheap and organic way to produce clean H20.

Algae is a natural water purifier. [Shutterstock]