NEWS: Sewage is new source of ski resort snow in Arizona

Let it snow, let it snow, let it… flow?

Last month, an Arizona ski resort began making snow entirely from its most reliable water source: Water recycled from Flagstaff’s sewage.

Wednesday’s Bloomberg story reads:

The ski area near Flagstaff is the first in the U.S. to make snow entirely from treated effluent—something that could become more widespread as facilities across the country confront drought, future water restrictions and climate change.

In our line of work, all water is recycled, really.

It comes from Lake Erie, you use it, we clean it, and back to the lake it goes. It’s called the “water cycle” for a reason after all. But we understand that the enormous Great Lake to our north makes it easy to take the resource and its sense of endless supply for granted. This video helps put the urban water cycle into perspective.

The Bloomberg story highlights some of the residents’ level of discomfort, and also discusses some of Native Americans’ spiritual standpoints on the issue and its effect on the environment.

Does “water recycling” make you uncomfortable? As “toilet to tap” terminology becomes more and more common in an age of sustainability, what does it mean to you?

Photo by kornrolla