Question Summary:
What is the ruling on utilising ‘purified’ sewage water Question Detail:
Kindly forward fatwa on utilising 'purified' sewage water
Answer :
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
The issue of the process of sewage water purification being in conformity to the Shar‘ī criteria of tahārah (purity) is only applicable if the sewage water is rendered najis (impure). Central Highlands Water defines sewage as: “Wastewater from your shower, bathtub, washing machine, dishwasher, kitchen sink and toilet is all considered sewage - it isn't just from the toilet. Interestingly, sewage is actually 99.8%”[1] water.” According to Central Highlands Water, The sewage is transported to the treatment plant by a series of pipes and pump stations.[2] In other words, there is a flow of water (both pure and impure). If this “flowing water” in the pipes has no traces of impurity i.e. there is no change in color, smell, or taste, the water will be Tāhir (pure in terms of Sharī’ah).[3]
However, if the sewage water does have traces of impurity in its color, taste, or smell, then we may proceed to discuss the recycling/wastewater treatment process.
The process of purifying sewage water differs from place to place. Similarly, the avenues in which purified sewage water is used also differs from place to place. Nevertheless, a summary of the process adopted by Point Loma Wastewater Treatment plant in San Diego as explained by The Earth Institute of Columbia University (blog) follows[4]:
Sewage first goes through advanced primary treatment in which water is separated from large particles, then enters sedimentation tanks where chemicals are used to make primary sludge settle to the bottom and scum rise to the top. Once the water is separated out, 80% of the solids have been removed, and the wastewater is clean enough to be discharged to the ocean.
In secondary treatment, bacteria are added to the wastewater to ingest organic solids, producing secondary sludge that settles to the bottom.
Tertiary treatment filters the water to remove whatever solids remain, disinfects it with chlorine, and removes the salt. In California, tertiary-treated water is called “recycled water” and can be used for irrigation or industry.
For Indirect Potable Reuse (IPR)—recycled water that eventually becomes drinking water—tertiary-treated water undergoes advanced water technology, then spends time in groundwater or surface water, such as a reservoir, before being sent to drinking water supplies. Advanced water technology first involves microfiltration that strains out any remaining solids.
Analysis of the purification process in light of Fiqh:
The advanced primary treatment which the water goes through in stage one does not “purify” the water in terms of Sharī‘ah. In order to become pure in Sharī‘ah, the impure water must either
be mixed in a “large body of pure water” (the surface area of which is approx. 225 sq. ft.[5]),
flow with pure water, or
pure water must be poured into the impure water tank causing a significant over flow of water after the impurities are removed.[6]
Note: In all three methods the color, taste, and smell of the water must return to normality.
At stage two and three, the water has still not met the Shar‘ī standards of purification, though it may be biologically clean.
N.B. It should be noted that tahārah (purification) of water is only necessary for drinking, cooking, wudu’, ghusl, and washing clothes. Tertiary-treated water may be used for irrigation, flushing (toilet), etc.
Tertiary-treated water for IPR-drinking water- which spends time in groundwater or surface water, such as a reservoir, is tāhir because it is mixed with a “large body of water.”
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Hisham Dawood
Student Darul Iftaa
Chicago, USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
Daruliftaa.net
[1] http://www.chw.net.au/community/what-sewage
[2] http://www.chw.net.au/community/sewage-treatment
[3]
و أما الماء الجاري إذا وقعت فيه النجاسة جاز الوضوء منه إذا لم ير لها أثر لأنها لا تستقر مع جريان الماء (مختصر القدوري ص-٦١، دارابن كثير)
...فالنجس لا يخلو إما أن يقع في المائعات كالماء...فإن وقع في الماء، فإن كانجاريا، فإن كان النجس غير مرئي كالبول...لأ ينجس، ما لم يتغير لونه أو طعمه أو ريحه...و إن كانت النجاسة مرئية كالجيفة و نحوها، فإن كان جميع لاماء يجري على الجيفة- لا يجوز التوضؤ من أسفل الجيفة لأنه نجس بيقين ...و إن كان أقله يجري على الجيفة و الأكثر مجري على الطاهر- يجوز التوضؤ به من أسفل الجيفة....(بدائع الصنائع ج-١ ص-٤٠٢، دار الكتب العلمية)
و يتوضأ بماء السماء...لا بماء تغير بكثرة الأوراق...و بماء دائم فيه نجس إن لم يكن عشرا في عشر، فهو كالجاري، و هو ما يذهب بتبنة، فيتوضأ منه إن لم ير أثره، وهو طعم، أو لون، أو ريح (كنز الدقائق ص-١٤٠، دار المنهاج)
[4] http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/04/04/from-wastewater-to-drinking-water/
[5] Ahsanul Fatawa vol.2 pg.45, H M Saeed
[6]
و لو كان في النهر ماء راكدا فتنجس ذلك الماء الراكد و نزل من أعلاه أي أعلى النهر ماء طاهر و أجراه أي أجرى الماء الطاهر الماء الراكد المتنجس و سيله فإنه أي الراكد يطهر بغلبة الماء الجاري عليه و لو توضأ إنسان منه جاز إذا لم ير لها أي للنجاسة أثر من الأوصاف الثلاثة كما هو حكم الماء الجاري (حلبي صغير ص-٥٩، دار النشر العلمية)
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