RegionalSan is upgrading its wastewater processing facility in Elk Grove, California, which processes wastewater from customers in Sacramento and West Sacramento counties. In an interview, various details and specifics were revealed and the new facility, called EchoWater, will clean sewage to the extent that it can be used to water food crops and the water will be used all the way down to Folsom. When complete, EchoWater will be the second largest facility of its kind in the US  as it is 3000 acres. The $1.7 billion project will remove ammonia from wastewater, filter it to a high degree and transfer it to agriculture. The new plant will provide 130 million gallons of recycled water per day for use in parks, ballfields, and medians in Elk Grove. 

The article highlights some of the major challenges and opportunities in the field of wastewater treatment and I am encouraged by the advancements being made in the use of technology to improve the treatment process. The use of machine learning and other advanced technologies, as well as the increasing focus on sustainability, will likely result in more effective and efficient methods for treating wastewater in the future. It is also important to be concious of all of the land this facility is taking up, 3,000 acres is not naturally cleared out, so the envornomental effects are notable solely based off of land used. Although, this is definitely a scenario where pros and cons need to be considered and what outweighs which as the overall goal of the plant will put less stress on different aspects of the environment by recycling water, one of the main drought prevent mechanisms, so there will be less stress on the ​​aquifers.