SUFFOLK, Va. (AP) - Coastal Virginia has begun to pump some of its treated sewage deep into the ground.
The pilot project officially kicked off Friday in Suffolk. It will reduce Chesapeake Bay pollution and could help to fortify the land against rising seas.
The project's primary motivation is stricter environmental laws. The Environmental Protection Agency is requiring sewage plants to release fewer pollutants in the treated wastewater that is discharged into the bay's watershed. Sanitation officials believe it's now more feasible to purify sewage to safe-drinking levels and pump it into the ground.
Scientists say the project could also serve as a tool against sea-level rise. The ground has been sinking, partly because humans have been draining groundwater from the aquifer. Pumping water into the aquifer should slow, stop or reverse the sinking.
