Extra COVID Cleanliness Impacting Bacteria!

We do not know if this huge, increased use of hand sanitizers, bleach and a chemical known as triclosan,* is impacting our very own WWTF out behind the cemetery, but it IS impacting a WWTF in Washington state. Bacteria that do the breakdown job on the nasties are being reduced, so the effectiveness of said bacteria is less. Their treated wastewater is discharged into a river (which makes its way into a lake), our goes back into our aquifer, so ours is not currently entering an ecosystem as complex as a lake with fish, plants and wildlife drinking from it anyway.

"Most water treatment plants use a process known as biological nutrient removal to break down human waste and other larger compounds in water before it’s clarified, filtered and disinfected for discharge from the plant."

Read in much more detail about it on the link below and note the fabulous photo at the top:

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/may/11/improved-hygiene-during-pandemic-may-to-be-blame-f/

The 17% of Los Osos still on septic tanks might be subject to an influx of more bleach and soap than usual (and yes, more water too). What happens to water going back into the ground if the bacteria needed to break down waste is reduced? Guess we'll find out in the years to come if anything changed. The effects of COVID-19 may live on in unexpected ways.

* Triclosan has been banned for years in some products, but it is not gone!

https://www.webmd.com/beauty/news/20180705/banned-from-soap-triclosan-in-toothpaste