Purple Pipe Covers

As you walk through this area, notice the purple covers throughout the planted areas. Purple is the color used to indicate that the water is recycled. The truth is all water on the planet is recycled, as it is the same water moving through the water cycle for the last 4.5 billion years. Human water recycling includes treating "wastewater" or sewage to nearly potable (drinkable) standards and then using that water for landscaping. This results in enormous savings in water imported from the Mokelumne River, ninety miles away, the source for potable water throughout the Temescal Creek watershed. The City of Emeryville was an early adopter of recycled water in 2009, thanks to the heroic efforts of Peter Schultz-Allen, a one-time staff member for the city's environmental department. His efforts prove that one person can impact an entire city, starting new trends for others to follow, as has been the case around the San Francisco Bay Area with recycled water.