Dive summary:
- Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort plans to recycle sewage water piped in from Flagstaff and turn it into fake snow for the resort.
- Many are concerned with this decision, including environmental and Native American groups that have been fighting the decision for 10 years claiming it will damage human and wildlife health as well as the mountain which is considered sacred by 13 Indian tribes.
- A study conducted at Virginia Teach showed that the nozzles which pump the snow through the resort are breading grounds for harmful antibiotic-resistant genes that could impede on the bodies ability to fight disease.
From the article:
As I wrote in The Times recently, a ski resort in northern Arizona will become the first in the world to make artificial snow totally out of sewage effluent this winter. Last February, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the resort, Arizona Snowbowl, ending a 10-year legal battle waged by environmental and Native American groups that warned that the wastewater snow would damage wildlife, human health and a mountain considered sacred by 13 Indian tribes.
Now, apart from longstanding concern about harmful chemicals in the water that will be used to make that snow — piped directly from the sewage treatment system of the nearby town of Flagstaff — new research indicates that the wastewater system is a breeding ground for antibiotic-resistant genes. ...