WHAT SWIMMERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SEWAGE RECYCLING                       IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA By Jim Bynum                                                                                                                        8/1/2007 Retired Safety Consultant Current, California Standards compels sewage treatment plants to dispose of sewage as reclaimed water for irrigation and sludge/biosolids as a soil amendment. Contrary to popular myth, sewer plants do not kill all pathogens and in fact, they actually augment antibiotic resistance by mixing pathogens and pharmaceuticals.  There is no current method of treatment which will remove the toxic pollutants or completely destroy the necrotizing disease causing organisms for either use. Fully adequate testing is expensive and rarely done. For reasons of contamination, the reclaimed water is not allowed to be disposed of in rivers during the dry season and sludge/biosolids can not be disposed of in a surface disposal landfill. However, the state has given the treatment plants a cheap option using a cheap and yet, insufficiently accurate test   Currently, reclaimed sewage water, in purple pipes, irrigate food crops (Salinas Valley), golf courses, school yards, parks and home lawns in new developments, etc. At the same time Bacteria, virus, and fungus contaminated sewage sludge/biosolids is used on food crops, golf course, school yards, parks , and sold for gardens and home lawns as an unlabelled soil amendment.  . SWIMMERS BEWARE AFTER THE RAINS. When the rains come the toxic chemicals, bacteria, viruses, worms, fungi and gram negative coliform (Escherichia coli, Enterobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, Yesinia (Black Plague) and the lesser known, Edwardsiella, Citrobacter, Klebsiella, , Serratia, Proteus, Morganella, and Providencia) are washed off the land into the rivers and ocean.  Fecal coliform are the thermotolerant coliform -- The  super bugs ("flesh-eating bacteria" ) now include most coliform, that cause necrotizing skin and soft tissue infections (fasciitis) that may require aggressive surgery.  Necrotizing bacteria include oxygen-using bacteria (aerobic) or oxygen-avoiding bacteria (anaerobic). Necrotizing pneumonia can kill within 72 hours. Between October and December 1997, the primary  bacteria in 1562 necrotizing cases were: Staphylococcus aureus (42.6%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (11.3%),  Enterococcus spp. (8.1%), Escherichia coli (7.2%), Enterobacter spp. (5.2%), and beta-hemolytic streptocci (5.1%). In 2005,Tucson Medical Center  alone treated 541 cases. Vibrio vulnificus is the primary concern in Gulf Coast water. In 2005, UC Irvine researcher, Ryan Dwight, estimated 74,000 incidents of stomach illness, respiratory disease and eye, ear and skin infections were caused by exposure to the polluted southern California coastal waters in a typical year California water standards offer no protection during the first 48 to 72 hours. Total Coliform:      1,000 per 100 ml if Fecal/Total is >.1 =     10,000 per liter                       10,000 per 100 ml if Fecal/Total is <.1 =   100,000 per liter Fecal Coliform:         400 per 100 ml                                =       4,000 per liter Enteroccoccus:        104 per 100 ml                                =       1,040 per liter If you are going in the water after a rain, make sure you have no open wounds or scratches. If you get an infection, immediate medical attention is required.