Water Reuse & Recycling

The environmental impact of the clothing industry is large and varied. The most significant factors depend highly on the energy, toxicity and water life cycle of the material in question. In general the largest contributions occur in the material production phase (e.g. agriculture), clothing production phase (factory) and usage phase (washing and drying). These are in the form of energy, water and chemical pollution.

A local group is attempting to clean the waters in Corvallis’ Sequoia Creek — and potentially the Willamette River beyond it — using an unusual tool: mushrooms.

The Fountain Hills Sanitary District (FHSD) provides wastewater treatment for over 13,000 homes and businesses. In addition to supplying the town’s namesake fountain, its treated water irrigates local golf courses and parks. In 2000, the utility developed an innovative way to make up the short-fall during the dryer less populated summer. The process, known as aquifer storage and recovery (ASR), involves injecting excess treated water into the aquifer and recovering it when summer demand increases. ASR had never been used at such an extreme depth.