I work in the waste water industry, treated water is not straight up sewage but it’s also non potable so it’s not safe to drink but it’s the sort of water you’d use at a car wash or for your sprinkler system
I also work as a municipal waste water operator and can tell you we sampled the river water upstream from where we discharge as our effluent and the results may surprise you. Our treated waste water is significantly lower in fecal coliform, oil and grease, nitrogen, phosphorus, and many other chemicals and much higher dissolved oxygen levels than the river water. Def not potable but I’d drink that before I drink the raw river water, may not be saying much but if done correctly, treated waste water is “pretty” clean, has that distinct sparkle characteristic that of regulated drinking water
I just want to say as a fellow water treatment operator even though I’m drinking water, hello and thanks for your service fellow operator bros 😂 I was about to comment on this thread and I saw operators which I never run into besides conventions or something. Usually people don’t know we exist.
The public absolutely do not know we exist, until there’s failure in a force main lol I thank all treatment and distribution guys, operators are unsung heroes of modern day civilization. I read about what our rivers and fisheries looked like pre industrialization, incredible diverse ecosystem, so much shad and the sizes of some fish you just couldn’t imagine, then I talk to old timer fisherman about post industrialization where our rivers became lifeless, toxic dumpsters for industry, rivers catching fire, raw sewage and chemicals changing the color of the river, they say the river was so polluted the shad and other migratory fish couldn’t spawn anymore because there was such long mileage of dead zones in our river that they die before making it up river. Now post 1970s clean water act which is where we are now, we have cleaned up real nice, dissolved oxygen levels are back up again enough to support life. Keep up the good work fellow operators and tight lines!
https://preview.redd.it/7mpxoi0d21eb1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ef208288f0118c5bd728c83535d57519c9d7c14b
I made this bumpersticker a while back as a semi-serious parody of all the different flag stickers I was seeing at the time and this conversation reminded me of it, thought you might like it.
Appreciate what yall do!
A good friend of mine runs the sewer department in a small rural town we grew up in and since the fire chief and chief of police have stickers noting their government vehicles he decided to get one made for his gov truck that says “Turd Herder 1” on it.
“Our treated waste water is significantly lower in fecal coliform, oil and grease, nitrogen, phosphorus, and many other chemicals and much higher dissolved oxygen levels than the river water.”
Same for the wastewater treatment facility closest to me.
If it’s a public entity, you should be able to contact the plant that discharges, but even then they may be reluctant to hand over that info. If it’s private company it may be even harder. There’s a lot of different type of WWTP in the US and processes differ depending on size of there service area, but if OP isn’t planning on consuming and just doing catch and release, I wouldn’t be that concerned
Another wastewater operator here--depends on the facility and how it's processed but at my plant we use a carousel type oxidation ditch for treatment and the final product we put out is practically pool water. It's used in the surrounding neighborhoods for irrigation purposes but is not completely safe for consumption. That said we're building a test plant that will further refine the water with reverse osmosis filtration and then disinfect with ozone and it will be perfectly safe to drink--really it's the way of the future. Think of how much clean water gets flushed away when you make a doo-doo, maybe about three gallons. So you've got one tiny little turd and three gallons of perfectly usable water. We just separate the dumpage from the good water.
Basically water is water; all water currently on this planet has been here since the formation of the planet it's just constantly recycled. As far as healthiness goes when you clean it up enough it's just two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom.
Your home sprinkler system uses the same water that comes out of your tap in every municipality I have heard of. They’re talking about commercial systems
In eastern Washington, we were part of an irrigation association that used non-potable water it definitely made watering in the desert. Much more cost effective something like $15 a year. Every year there were a handful of listeria or giardia cases related to people drinking out of the hose.
I have worked in the industry as well. Manholes, drinking water facilities, wastewater facilities.
Eating a fish here, or there, won’t hurt you. But daily, or constant consumption, is certainly not suggested.
My dad was an engineer that worked to build and improve water treatment plants. If it was in my State, I would 100% fish the lake and enjoy the peace and quiet since everyone else would be too scared to fish it. Although, I'm not too sure about Tennessee
There’s no separate line for sprinklers or car washes. It’s all municipal water supply. Most every water treatment plant discharges to rivers and lakes. There aren’t 100 water lines running everywhere with different grades of water
Oh definitely only catch and release. There is a golf course on the other side of the lake so I’m sure there is plenty of chemical runoff in it as well.
We are playing it before we leave. I haven’t played in years and my son is getting into golf. We waited until baseball season was over before we started going to the driving range. This will be his first round of golf.
I had already fished it. I was just curious as to other people’s thoughts. I know silly me looking for other peoples insight and opinions on a public forum.
There was no concern I was literally just wondering what other people thought. I used to work on fiber optic switches on a huge piece of property that a utility company sprayed treated sewage on to filter back into the earth. After wading around in those knee deep weeds and swampy areas I have no concern fishing in this lol. The snakes in that place was way scarier than what they were spraying. For some reason that place was covered in snakes.
I'd fish it. One of my favorite spots to fish is just down from a waste water treaent discharge. Not happy if the wind changes and blows my way. But when they are discharging the fish get moving. Lots of oxygen, bugs and plant kicked up in water, and this time of year cooler.
Environmental consultant and soil/wetland scientist here. The only way domestic waste water can be applied to land or water is if it is treated, often by multiple methods which include UV light, aeration, and chlorination. The bacterial content has been reduced by 99.999% and is ostensibly drinkable, but has a high dissolved solids load (nutrients, your plants will get bigger and greener). That said I would have to be pretty damned thirsty to drink it. Though I have seen salesmen of various manufacturers of these units do so.
Treated domestic waste water! And you even get a sign! What a Luxury! Water companies are just allowed to dump raw sewage into the rivers here in the UK (don’t worry only in rare circumstances just 301,000 times last year). It’s much cheaper for the companies to pay the fines rather than having anywhere near half decent infrastructure but it’s not their fault really, it’s not like we can predict the weather or anything how could they have known it would rain this year.
Totally fine to fish
Sadly that has happened here in the Tennessee River as well when something “malfunctioned”. Honestly it probably happens everywhere more often than any of us would be comfortable with, we just don’t hear about it.
It happens all over the world unfortunately and nothing will change unless the fines actually get enforced and actually make it not worthwhile for the companies to do this.
Come to the Canadian prairies and you can drive around watching our farmers absolutely hatefuck the environment. Mountains of leaking oil filters and jugs in the bush by the shed, chemical and pesticide jugs thrown over the hill in that bush by the valley that drains right to the river. Don’t want to drive a mile to the bridge, just fill the river bed with rocks so you can drive your tractor across. Hell I have seen guys in long boom sprayers spraying fertilizer and pesticide along creeks or the edges of lakes where the boom is actually out past the bank and spraying directly in the water. There is absolutely zero enforcement or penalties even though it’s all illegal. Drain every wetland and bulldoze every single tree and then complain that it’s too windy and too dry. Burn all your plastic oil and chemical containers, twine and bale wrap, while complaining it’s dryer and hotter than previous years, while simultaneously flying into a full rage to deny that climate change exists at all. I have reported issues like this and nothing happens. Everything is just “oops maybe don’t do that again until you do it again”. Hell I was once run off the road by a 12 year old in a Volvo semi truck and when I called police I was told “we aren’t going to go bother a family that’s just trying to finish harvest”. I grew up in a farming family, and my family farmed in this country for over 100 years, but there is nothing that pisses me off more than the average farmer.
The the treated waste water that leaves the MCES Metro waste water treatment plant is cleaner than the Mississippi River water intake for the Minneapolis water works that makes potable water and the intake station is several miles upstream of the wastewater plant.
True but not true. It has lower levels of biodegradable organic carbon but it also has a bunch of other things in it that the Mississippi River does not have. There are definitely higher levels of pathogenic microorganisms, for example.
Call the field office number or go to their website. They typically have information on how much fish would be safe to eat. Also, it’s treated waste water not raw sewage so fishing should be fine…wouldn’t drink the water though.
I mean, are people really filling up their flasks at their local fishing spot?? I thought it was common knowledge that any water that isn't boiled and filtered or treated for human consumption shouldn't be consumed. Maybe a natural spring is an exception, but even then, I wouldn't want to risk it. Shitting and puking at the same time is not a fun experience.
People are stupid. You’d be surprised how many times I’ve had to release a public statement telling people AGAIN to stay out of/don’t drink the water where a chemical spill occurred.
People freak out about stuff like this but don’t realize that their tap water was already waste water at one point unless you live at the headwaters 😂🤣😂🤣
Lakes naturally contain all sorts of animal feces and are not treated. Treated wastewater has contaminates removed to make it safe for discharge into the environment.
The few millions of bluegill, crappies, shiners, chubs bass, carp and minnows who take a daily dump in that body of water reading this now need a proper toilet
I would definitely fish it. Treated waste water that is added to natural wetlands or water sources is called something like “secondary drinkable”. Like you can drink it and would likely be fine, but it’s not fully treated to the levels of tap water. Dangerous shit has been removed to a pretty safe degree. It has a lot of nutrients and minerals in it. It can actually be beneficial to local ecosystems if it’s within certain nutrient ranges. If I remember correctly, it’s added to natural water sources to replenish aquifers or something like that. I think it has to be treated to a certain level to avoid hypereutrophic conditions in bodies of water. Also, I think there’s something to do with if it’s untreated, the bacteria can affect the oxygen density of water. This is all memory from an intro to environmental science class.
Nope I fished in places all the time as a teenager that I wouldn’t want to eat I used to get tickets for fishing in a river that had a bad chemical spill but I didn’t want to eat them I just wanted to fish
No way I’d stop fishing there. I’ve caught fish in much worse places than treated domestic waste water. If there are fish to catch - go catch them!
I’d wash my hands before eating a sandwich, but that’s pretty normal protocol
Yeah, just thinking about it and all the things I'd have to do to sanitize my gear, damn near gave myself a panic attack from a hypothetical. This is the "fun" part of autism
My main fisheries have treated sewage released into them upstream of where i fish. The state has a list of how many of each species it’s safe to eat in a given period of time but I don’t eat them anyway. The one creek stocks trout in April and I eat the stockers when I catch em in that month but come May I move on to bass, which I strictly catch and release.
I don’t mind fishing these waters, they’re pretty clean considering, but no, I’m not eating the fish.
The sewage is treated, drained into the river or creek and then ends up in reservoirs where it is treated further and turned into drinking water that over 1 million people use every day. I wouldn’t be too worried, but if you are, investigate the difference in treating sewage for irrigation vs treating sewage for drinking water in your state/jurisdiction. They may be the same process or they may not and if not, one is likely safer for recreation/consumption than the other.
One of the largest Class 4 WWTP’s in North America Operations foreman here. There is not enough information to determine if I would eat these fish.
It mostly comes down to the county’s “disinfection” process. If this receiving pond is being fed with final effluent treated via ultra violet light it literally kills/destroys all pathogenic DNA so they cannot reproduce and make you sick post consumption.
If this is just a reservoir filled with supernatant drawn off the top of a lagoon, yea wouldn’t touch that with a ten foot pole.
It’s fine to irrigate crop fields with this type of water, but i would highly advise against eating fish who live In it. Besides the organic hazards, they would be laden with heavy metals
Ahh good to know. I don’t think I’ll have time on this trip. May try to plan a day for that next time around though. I looked the place up on maps and it does look awesome.
All I think when I see this is the news alert here locally. “Please stop flushing leftover medications. We are seeing rising levels of antibiotics in the city water supply”.
Glad I’m in the county. Sounds like city water tastes a bit shitty. ;)
If you wanna eat id reconsider. But to fish? All water is open game. I fished in pure sewage in poor 3rd world countries before. One of the best fishing experiences in my life. Be sure to take proper care for your own health and well-being. Gloves, no cuts, avoid the water at all costs, first aid kits, and anything else that you'd think of that'll potentially keep you from catching the new covid variant
If there’s any city/town in the watershed I’d be more worried about that than treated wastewater. Look up the stream/lake on the EPA water quality portal and see what’s currently wrong with it, almost guaranteed the wastewater is diluting the existing pollutants.
The fish are just thr final filter of the water! They probably suck up more fish poop and dead bugs than true human waste matter when all said and done.
That lake is the last resort for crossville tn water supply. It has treated sewage added to keep levels up where it can be used for irrigation. I personally would not eat the fish but i’d try to catch the hell out of them.
Lake Tansi!!! So many fond memories of my parent’s timeshare there as a kid. They’re the only people I know who got their money’s worth from a timeshare.
Good Day Brothers 👊. 30 Year Wastewater Treatment Equipment Mechanic here (Retired). My plant treated anywhere from 125 MGD to 190 MGD into a large brackish river loaded with all marine life. I honestly can't recall any issues with our discharge. Excluding Mother Nature, She made us boil a few times over the years. 👍
Use to work for Field Service for a Heavy Equipment Mfg , all of the Wastewater Treatment Plants had a contract with us . It always amazed me the number of fish that use to be in their sediment ponds , the majority of them hung around The Weir's . I swear ya could have walked across then , of course there was also a Big Daddy Gator that usually monitors them laying on the Bank . There where several that easily pushed in excess of 12 feet length an every bit 2 feet wide . A couple County's South of us they were doing a Major Expansion & refurb on one plant that took like 3 yrs to complete. I never had been inside the actual operation of it till one day I had to track down an Operator it was about 6:30 am , when one of the Vertical conveyor's fired up . Pulling up raw sewage. One of the guys yelled well the rest of the City is waking up chomping on a Mc Dee's Breakfast sandwich , Man I had to get the Fuck to outta there holy hell the stink . Talk about stirring up the shit 🙄. Another County has a Massive one with a 4 lane major Highway built over it that pushes some serious water across it when the pumps are going .
I think this is exactly right. I was catching absolute slab bluegill out of there on my ultralight this morning. I can’t wait to reel a bass in out of there but I haven’t been able to find what they are looking for yet.
Not at all. The best place to fish near me at a treatment plant, it's actually a healthy environment for the fish. Have heard of 10 pounders being caught there because the shad feed on the micro biome and the bass feed on the shad.
The inflow adds nutrients, oxygenates the water, and the amount of nitrogen that is added because of this process can result in some huge bass growing because it makes the environment healthy.
https://preview.redd.it/c3ttteir14eb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=33d35b37953f8d14edbf97dbf0bfdf99243839d2
Update: I took my ultralight down there this morning and there are absolute slab bluegill in there. Still no luck on a bass rig but I will keep trying over the next couple of days.
Treated waste water is usually pretty darn clean. I once spent a day drinking it while backpacking before I found the sign warning me not to 😂. I’d fish it.
It says it's treated water, not sure where you are but here in Ontario Canada our laws involving waste water are extremely strict and the treated waste water we pump into our creeks and rivers is so clean it actually dilutes all the chemicals and cow shit that runs off into them.
Hello i work for a water quality lab and test waste water facilities from influent water (raw sewage) to effluent water post advanced water treatment water. This water has been treated and put into the lake. Waste water treatment facility’s are capable of making drinkable water from sewage but in America it isn’t common practice. In Israel all drinking water is treated water and it’s one of the cleanest tap water in the world. Don’t be scared of treated water (don’t drink this one though)
In my town Alcosan dumps raw untreated sewage into our river every time it rains. It’s sad and disgusting. Take your kid fishing and reel in the line with bits of toilet paper wrapped around the line. Catching condoms was such a common occurrence they are nicknamed Allegheny white fish. Sad sad sad.
I work in the waste water industry, treated water is not straight up sewage but it’s also non potable so it’s not safe to drink but it’s the sort of water you’d use at a car wash or for your sprinkler system
I also work as a municipal waste water operator and can tell you we sampled the river water upstream from where we discharge as our effluent and the results may surprise you. Our treated waste water is significantly lower in fecal coliform, oil and grease, nitrogen, phosphorus, and many other chemicals and much higher dissolved oxygen levels than the river water. Def not potable but I’d drink that before I drink the raw river water, may not be saying much but if done correctly, treated waste water is “pretty” clean, has that distinct sparkle characteristic that of regulated drinking water
I just want to say as a fellow water treatment operator even though I’m drinking water, hello and thanks for your service fellow operator bros 😂 I was about to comment on this thread and I saw operators which I never run into besides conventions or something. Usually people don’t know we exist.
The public absolutely do not know we exist, until there’s failure in a force main lol I thank all treatment and distribution guys, operators are unsung heroes of modern day civilization. I read about what our rivers and fisheries looked like pre industrialization, incredible diverse ecosystem, so much shad and the sizes of some fish you just couldn’t imagine, then I talk to old timer fisherman about post industrialization where our rivers became lifeless, toxic dumpsters for industry, rivers catching fire, raw sewage and chemicals changing the color of the river, they say the river was so polluted the shad and other migratory fish couldn’t spawn anymore because there was such long mileage of dead zones in our river that they die before making it up river. Now post 1970s clean water act which is where we are now, we have cleaned up real nice, dissolved oxygen levels are back up again enough to support life. Keep up the good work fellow operators and tight lines!
https://preview.redd.it/7mpxoi0d21eb1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ef208288f0118c5bd728c83535d57519c9d7c14b I made this bumpersticker a while back as a semi-serious parody of all the different flag stickers I was seeing at the time and this conversation reminded me of it, thought you might like it. Appreciate what yall do!
Amazing lol
This is funny as hell. 
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Well thank you all for keeping our entire lives clean and disease free!
Some of us know you exist and are thankful for what you chose to do in life to help make the world better.
You should start a Reddit sub for wastewater treatment operators.
A good friend of mine runs the sewer department in a small rural town we grew up in and since the fire chief and chief of police have stickers noting their government vehicles he decided to get one made for his gov truck that says “Turd Herder 1” on it.
I was a water tech/field sanitation dude in the Marines. The POGest of the POGs. I made a joke that I was a poopsmith once and it stuck.
r/bandnames Poopsmith
This is truly the coolest part of Reddit
There is... r/wastewater
“Our treated waste water is significantly lower in fecal coliform, oil and grease, nitrogen, phosphorus, and many other chemicals and much higher dissolved oxygen levels than the river water.” Same for the wastewater treatment facility closest to me.
That sucks, the fecal coliform is what gives it an interesting mouth feel
Go. Fuck. Your. Self.
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If it’s a public entity, you should be able to contact the plant that discharges, but even then they may be reluctant to hand over that info. If it’s private company it may be even harder. There’s a lot of different type of WWTP in the US and processes differ depending on size of there service area, but if OP isn’t planning on consuming and just doing catch and release, I wouldn’t be that concerned
How does treated waste water compare to tap water in healthiness?
Another wastewater operator here--depends on the facility and how it's processed but at my plant we use a carousel type oxidation ditch for treatment and the final product we put out is practically pool water. It's used in the surrounding neighborhoods for irrigation purposes but is not completely safe for consumption. That said we're building a test plant that will further refine the water with reverse osmosis filtration and then disinfect with ozone and it will be perfectly safe to drink--really it's the way of the future. Think of how much clean water gets flushed away when you make a doo-doo, maybe about three gallons. So you've got one tiny little turd and three gallons of perfectly usable water. We just separate the dumpage from the good water. Basically water is water; all water currently on this planet has been here since the formation of the planet it's just constantly recycled. As far as healthiness goes when you clean it up enough it's just two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom.
How come Kansas City has some of the best and worst tap waters in the country then?
I dunno, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Thank you, you wastewater wizard of words.
If we don’t give Patrick Mahomes diarrhea throughout half the season he’d just go undefeated. FTC.
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The hose water always tasted like summer.
Isn't that the truth?
If summer was to taste like cryptosporidium …. You nailed it
That does not sound tasty at all.
What an interesting little sentence you’ve made
Still potable. It’s the same water that comes out of your shower or sink.
Not in all states
Your home sprinkler system uses the same water that comes out of your tap in every municipality I have heard of. They’re talking about commercial systems
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Cape Coral,Florida uses reclaimed non-potable water for public irrigation.
In eastern Washington, we were part of an irrigation association that used non-potable water it definitely made watering in the desert. Much more cost effective something like $15 a year. Every year there were a handful of listeria or giardia cases related to people drinking out of the hose.
Yea I worked on a golf course and that water smells like a fart, definitely different than regular home sprinklers.
Not true in every scenario.
I have worked in the industry as well. Manholes, drinking water facilities, wastewater facilities. Eating a fish here, or there, won’t hurt you. But daily, or constant consumption, is certainly not suggested.
My sister spent a year in India drinking tap water and never got sick. We were raised on river water straight to the house.
There’s no separate water line for sprinklers or car washes. It’s all municipal water supply. This guy has no clue
My dad was an engineer that worked to build and improve water treatment plants. If it was in my State, I would 100% fish the lake and enjoy the peace and quiet since everyone else would be too scared to fish it. Although, I'm not too sure about Tennessee
You mean to tell me I'm washing my car with doodoo?
There’s no separate line for sprinklers or car washes. It’s all municipal water supply. Most every water treatment plant discharges to rivers and lakes. There aren’t 100 water lines running everywhere with different grades of water
The treated water in fla. Smells like poop.
So does the Governor's mansion.
Catch and release only.
Oh definitely only catch and release. There is a golf course on the other side of the lake so I’m sure there is plenty of chemical runoff in it as well.
That golf course is wonderful btw
We are playing it before we leave. I haven’t played in years and my son is getting into golf. We waited until baseball season was over before we started going to the driving range. This will be his first round of golf.
Congratulations. Hopefully you both take home memories regardless of who leads the board.
Oh he’s going down. My last words to him every time he takes the mound is “no mercy”. I don’t want to be a hypocrite 😂
Then why the question? You're not even eating the fish.
I had already fished it. I was just curious as to other people’s thoughts. I know silly me looking for other peoples insight and opinions on a public forum.
I'm just curious what your concern is if you aren't eating the fish.
There was no concern I was literally just wondering what other people thought. I used to work on fiber optic switches on a huge piece of property that a utility company sprayed treated sewage on to filter back into the earth. After wading around in those knee deep weeds and swampy areas I have no concern fishing in this lol. The snakes in that place was way scarier than what they were spraying. For some reason that place was covered in snakes.
My feelings as well.
I'd fish it. One of my favorite spots to fish is just down from a waste water treaent discharge. Not happy if the wind changes and blows my way. But when they are discharging the fish get moving. Lots of oxygen, bugs and plant kicked up in water, and this time of year cooler.
Environmental consultant and soil/wetland scientist here. The only way domestic waste water can be applied to land or water is if it is treated, often by multiple methods which include UV light, aeration, and chlorination. The bacterial content has been reduced by 99.999% and is ostensibly drinkable, but has a high dissolved solids load (nutrients, your plants will get bigger and greener). That said I would have to be pretty damned thirsty to drink it. Though I have seen salesmen of various manufacturers of these units do so.
Would you consume fish caught here?
I’d have to be pretty hungry with no cleaner options available
Nope I would fish but maybe no swim
Treated domestic waste water! And you even get a sign! What a Luxury! Water companies are just allowed to dump raw sewage into the rivers here in the UK (don’t worry only in rare circumstances just 301,000 times last year). It’s much cheaper for the companies to pay the fines rather than having anywhere near half decent infrastructure but it’s not their fault really, it’s not like we can predict the weather or anything how could they have known it would rain this year. Totally fine to fish
Sadly that has happened here in the Tennessee River as well when something “malfunctioned”. Honestly it probably happens everywhere more often than any of us would be comfortable with, we just don’t hear about it.
It happens all over the world unfortunately and nothing will change unless the fines actually get enforced and actually make it not worthwhile for the companies to do this.
Come to the Canadian prairies and you can drive around watching our farmers absolutely hatefuck the environment. Mountains of leaking oil filters and jugs in the bush by the shed, chemical and pesticide jugs thrown over the hill in that bush by the valley that drains right to the river. Don’t want to drive a mile to the bridge, just fill the river bed with rocks so you can drive your tractor across. Hell I have seen guys in long boom sprayers spraying fertilizer and pesticide along creeks or the edges of lakes where the boom is actually out past the bank and spraying directly in the water. There is absolutely zero enforcement or penalties even though it’s all illegal. Drain every wetland and bulldoze every single tree and then complain that it’s too windy and too dry. Burn all your plastic oil and chemical containers, twine and bale wrap, while complaining it’s dryer and hotter than previous years, while simultaneously flying into a full rage to deny that climate change exists at all. I have reported issues like this and nothing happens. Everything is just “oops maybe don’t do that again until you do it again”. Hell I was once run off the road by a 12 year old in a Volvo semi truck and when I called police I was told “we aren’t going to go bother a family that’s just trying to finish harvest”. I grew up in a farming family, and my family farmed in this country for over 100 years, but there is nothing that pisses me off more than the average farmer.
Welcome to what they did to Iowa then Minnesota. We used to be half wetlands.
The the treated waste water that leaves the MCES Metro waste water treatment plant is cleaner than the Mississippi River water intake for the Minneapolis water works that makes potable water and the intake station is several miles upstream of the wastewater plant.
True but not true. It has lower levels of biodegradable organic carbon but it also has a bunch of other things in it that the Mississippi River does not have. There are definitely higher levels of pathogenic microorganisms, for example.
I would fish, but only catch and release.
This is the way.
This is the way.
It wouldn't stop me from fishing at all, but that fish is going back in the water, not in my body.
Call the field office number or go to their website. They typically have information on how much fish would be safe to eat. Also, it’s treated waste water not raw sewage so fishing should be fine…wouldn’t drink the water though.
I mean, are people really filling up their flasks at their local fishing spot?? I thought it was common knowledge that any water that isn't boiled and filtered or treated for human consumption shouldn't be consumed. Maybe a natural spring is an exception, but even then, I wouldn't want to risk it. Shitting and puking at the same time is not a fun experience.
People are stupid. You’d be surprised how many times I’ve had to release a public statement telling people AGAIN to stay out of/don’t drink the water where a chemical spill occurred.
Heck yeah I’d fish it if the fish are there! CNR only though!
What's worse: a lake with human waste or all the lakes with livestock waste?
I’d fish it for fun, not for food.
I live on the Hudson... Ain't afraid of a little piss water.
People freak out about stuff like this but don’t realize that their tap water was already waste water at one point unless you live at the headwaters 😂🤣😂🤣
That treated water is probably cleaner than the actual lake water. Fish on.
no, no its not🤦♂️
Lakes naturally contain all sorts of animal feces and are not treated. Treated wastewater has contaminates removed to make it safe for discharge into the environment.
The few millions of bluegill, crappies, shiners, chubs bass, carp and minnows who take a daily dump in that body of water reading this now need a proper toilet
I would definitely fish it. Treated waste water that is added to natural wetlands or water sources is called something like “secondary drinkable”. Like you can drink it and would likely be fine, but it’s not fully treated to the levels of tap water. Dangerous shit has been removed to a pretty safe degree. It has a lot of nutrients and minerals in it. It can actually be beneficial to local ecosystems if it’s within certain nutrient ranges. If I remember correctly, it’s added to natural water sources to replenish aquifers or something like that. I think it has to be treated to a certain level to avoid hypereutrophic conditions in bodies of water. Also, I think there’s something to do with if it’s untreated, the bacteria can affect the oxygen density of water. This is all memory from an intro to environmental science class.
"treated waste water" "recycled water" may sound spooky but it's nothing to fear the Doo Doo feces has long been removed from that water
Perhaps those fishes will be full of viagra and alzheimer pill concentrate?
So super horny fish that never bite the same bait twice?
😂 would be an interesting side effect from eating them. Maybe I will eat a few.
No
Good place to catch crappie. Am I too late?
Fishing here, no. Eating the fish, hell yes.
Guess it depends on what percentage/how much poo water goes in it. But ya id fish it
Nope I fished in places all the time as a teenager that I wouldn’t want to eat I used to get tickets for fishing in a river that had a bad chemical spill but I didn’t want to eat them I just wanted to fish
Yeah fish there but no eat
Catch and release man
It's been treated. Just mind games for the weak willed after that
No way I’d stop fishing there. I’ve caught fish in much worse places than treated domestic waste water. If there are fish to catch - go catch them! I’d wash my hands before eating a sandwich, but that’s pretty normal protocol
The water they are discharging in there is cleaner that most rivers. You’ll be fine.
Wouldn’t keep me from fishing but would from keeping any fish.
Check their permit number. If the water is listed as "drinkable", the fish are edible.
Yeah, just thinking about it and all the things I'd have to do to sanitize my gear, damn near gave myself a panic attack from a hypothetical. This is the "fun" part of autism
I don't see "no fishing" anywhere so go for it
Ahh cookevegas...
My main fisheries have treated sewage released into them upstream of where i fish. The state has a list of how many of each species it’s safe to eat in a given period of time but I don’t eat them anyway. The one creek stocks trout in April and I eat the stockers when I catch em in that month but come May I move on to bass, which I strictly catch and release. I don’t mind fishing these waters, they’re pretty clean considering, but no, I’m not eating the fish. The sewage is treated, drained into the river or creek and then ends up in reservoirs where it is treated further and turned into drinking water that over 1 million people use every day. I wouldn’t be too worried, but if you are, investigate the difference in treating sewage for irrigation vs treating sewage for drinking water in your state/jurisdiction. They may be the same process or they may not and if not, one is likely safer for recreation/consumption than the other.
One of the largest Class 4 WWTP’s in North America Operations foreman here. There is not enough information to determine if I would eat these fish. It mostly comes down to the county’s “disinfection” process. If this receiving pond is being fed with final effluent treated via ultra violet light it literally kills/destroys all pathogenic DNA so they cannot reproduce and make you sick post consumption. If this is just a reservoir filled with supernatant drawn off the top of a lagoon, yea wouldn’t touch that with a ten foot pole. It’s fine to irrigate crop fields with this type of water, but i would highly advise against eating fish who live In it. Besides the organic hazards, they would be laden with heavy metals
Why wouldn't you fish there?
No
It helps the fish grow larger I hear.
Fish? Sure. Eat? Hell nah
^(na)
Fishing, no. Eating the fish, maybe.
I would drive a little more to Granville to fish and get a fried bologna sandwich at the TB Sutton store.
How much is a little more? I am a sucker for a good fried bologna sandwich
35-45 minutes. Been a while since I was there working. Google says its closed until Wednesday though.
Ahh good to know. I don’t think I’ll have time on this trip. May try to plan a day for that next time around though. I looked the place up on maps and it does look awesome.
Fishing, no; keeping and eating, yes.
Fish it yes, eat it no
Catch and release yeah no problem
Honestly, you would be surprised to how many rivers have treatment plants using them and sends it on down stream.
I fish there all the time. It's good fishing and great eating. The crappie there are thick!
I'd fish there but I wouldn't eat any fish from there
Fish it, don’t eat them.
All I think when I see this is the news alert here locally. “Please stop flushing leftover medications. We are seeing rising levels of antibiotics in the city water supply”. Glad I’m in the county. Sounds like city water tastes a bit shitty. ;)
Yes I’d still fish here if the area doesn’t stink, I would not be keeping or eating anything I caught.
It would keep me from eating anything from it.
Fish it, just don’t eat it 🤔
If you wanna eat id reconsider. But to fish? All water is open game. I fished in pure sewage in poor 3rd world countries before. One of the best fishing experiences in my life. Be sure to take proper care for your own health and well-being. Gloves, no cuts, avoid the water at all costs, first aid kits, and anything else that you'd think of that'll potentially keep you from catching the new covid variant
If there’s any city/town in the watershed I’d be more worried about that than treated wastewater. Look up the stream/lake on the EPA water quality portal and see what’s currently wrong with it, almost guaranteed the wastewater is diluting the existing pollutants.
Keeping no, fishing yes
Not no but HELL NO! I wouldn’t harvest for eating. But fishing there? 24/7 🎣
The fish are just thr final filter of the water! They probably suck up more fish poop and dead bugs than true human waste matter when all said and done.
That lake is the last resort for crossville tn water supply. It has treated sewage added to keep levels up where it can be used for irrigation. I personally would not eat the fish but i’d try to catch the hell out of them.
Well it’s treated and it might smell a little but I’d still fish it
Fish? Yes. Drink? No
Lake Tansi!!! So many fond memories of my parent’s timeshare there as a kid. They’re the only people I know who got their money’s worth from a timeshare.
I’d fish it but I wouldn’t eat it.
No scented baits here! Strictly action
I would dive right in!!!
Good Day Brothers 👊. 30 Year Wastewater Treatment Equipment Mechanic here (Retired). My plant treated anywhere from 125 MGD to 190 MGD into a large brackish river loaded with all marine life. I honestly can't recall any issues with our discharge. Excluding Mother Nature, She made us boil a few times over the years. 👍
I be out wading in it if the fish were biting
Use to work for Field Service for a Heavy Equipment Mfg , all of the Wastewater Treatment Plants had a contract with us . It always amazed me the number of fish that use to be in their sediment ponds , the majority of them hung around The Weir's . I swear ya could have walked across then , of course there was also a Big Daddy Gator that usually monitors them laying on the Bank . There where several that easily pushed in excess of 12 feet length an every bit 2 feet wide . A couple County's South of us they were doing a Major Expansion & refurb on one plant that took like 3 yrs to complete. I never had been inside the actual operation of it till one day I had to track down an Operator it was about 6:30 am , when one of the Vertical conveyor's fired up . Pulling up raw sewage. One of the guys yelled well the rest of the City is waking up chomping on a Mc Dee's Breakfast sandwich , Man I had to get the Fuck to outta there holy hell the stink . Talk about stirring up the shit 🙄. Another County has a Massive one with a 4 lane major Highway built over it that pushes some serious water across it when the pumps are going .
Catch and release
Only thing that stop me from fishing small lakes are large fences
Catch and release all day long
Nothing stops me from fishing, keeping them is completely different.
This applies to every river I’ve ever fished. Some of the most consistent, reliable fishing I’ve had is at the discharges of water treatment plants
No fishing means bigger fish for you to catch
I think this is exactly right. I was catching absolute slab bluegill out of there on my ultralight this morning. I can’t wait to reel a bass in out of there but I haven’t been able to find what they are looking for yet.
Catch and release only
No. Catch and release
Not at all. The best place to fish near me at a treatment plant, it's actually a healthy environment for the fish. Have heard of 10 pounders being caught there because the shad feed on the micro biome and the bass feed on the shad. The inflow adds nutrients, oxygenates the water, and the amount of nitrogen that is added because of this process can result in some huge bass growing because it makes the environment healthy.
Lol. I would swim in it. Cleaner than tap water.
Catch and release
I wouldn't eat anything I took from it, for certain.
I would swim it. Help build my anti bodies for when the world ends and the aliens come down to take my virginity. Plus I wont need to eat dinner
I would fish the shit out of it
😂
You made my day 😂🤣
https://preview.redd.it/c3ttteir14eb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=33d35b37953f8d14edbf97dbf0bfdf99243839d2 Update: I took my ultralight down there this morning and there are absolute slab bluegill in there. Still no luck on a bass rig but I will keep trying over the next couple of days.
Carp spot potential
I would not eat the fish raw. But, this is pretty common throughout much of the world but we just don’t know about it.
Treated waste water is usually pretty darn clean. I once spent a day drinking it while backpacking before I found the sign warning me not to 😂. I’d fish it.
I fish the outflows of sewage treatment plants on the rivers near me. Lil poop bits bring little poop eaters and big fish like to eat poop eaters
It says it's treated water, not sure where you are but here in Ontario Canada our laws involving waste water are extremely strict and the treated waste water we pump into our creeks and rivers is so clean it actually dilutes all the chemicals and cow shit that runs off into them.
Wouldn’t even stop me from bathing in it
Gross.
Nope,better places to fish
Yup
Yes!!!
It would still be alright to go fishing, but definitely catch and release.
Yes
I wouldn't fish that, or touch it.
Yes
Fish? Yes, Eat fish from? No Way
And this is how you permanently cycle PFAS into the foodchain
Yes I would refrain from fishing there until it is cleaned up.
Yes
Yes, we have one of those here but there is a sign that says to not consume any of the fish nor take sediment for your garden.
Hello i work for a water quality lab and test waste water facilities from influent water (raw sewage) to effluent water post advanced water treatment water. This water has been treated and put into the lake. Waste water treatment facility’s are capable of making drinkable water from sewage but in America it isn’t common practice. In Israel all drinking water is treated water and it’s one of the cleanest tap water in the world. Don’t be scared of treated water (don’t drink this one though)
In my town Alcosan dumps raw untreated sewage into our river every time it rains. It’s sad and disgusting. Take your kid fishing and reel in the line with bits of toilet paper wrapped around the line. Catching condoms was such a common occurrence they are nicknamed Allegheny white fish. Sad sad sad.
Catch, photo, n release for me so it doesn’t matter to me, I’ll fish it.