2012 Olympics will recycle sewage

The Olympic Park in London will be recycling sewage for use in toilets and irrigate landscaping, as well as provide cooling water for the energy centre that powers the Olympic venues.

Although harvesting rainwater and recycling greywater is a common method, recycling sewage is on a different scale, and you would be forgiven for feeling apprehensive towards the new environmentally friendly move.

However, that is exactly what will be happening in the Olympic Park and Village this year, where wastewater will be used to fill toilets and irrigate landscaping, as well as provide cooling water for the energy centre. 

The so-called blackwater recycle program is one of many water monitoring techniques being implemented this summer, with measures such as 'efficient fixtures'  helping the summer games reduce its use of potable – or drinking quality – water by 58  per cent – exceeding its initial target of 40 per cent.

This is the first initiative in the UK according to the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).The agency hopes that the program can become a model for other cities in the UK and across the globe, especially in places where droughts and low levels of groundwater are common.

Two initial schemes proposed by the ODA have been successful in reducing the amount of water consumed at the Olympic Park and Village. By installing efficient fixtures the organisers found they were able to reduce water consumption by 30–50 per cent. However, high levels of consumption and the energy centre that uses water for process cooling slashed the Games’ overall water savings down to 18 per cent.

It was clear that more measures were required, and after ruling out the use of groundwater and the use of greywater, the ODA began researching reusing sewage water and, surprisingly, found it to be a viable option for Olympic Park.

Blackwater has a number of benefits over rainwater and greywater. There is a steady and predictable supply of sewage, and sanitising the blackwater for reuse would actually use less energy than treating groundwater and produce a higher quality water.

Posted by Lauren Steadman