Village Brewery announced the release of a limited edition batch of its flagship Village Blonde Natural Golden Ale, which is brewed using treated wastewater.
This was created to help bring attention to water scarcity, according to the University of Calgary in Alberta.
The batch was developed in partnership with the University of Calgary’s Advancing Canadian Water Assets (ACWA) and Xylem Inc.
The special edition of the Village Blonde brew is available at the brewery. ACWA also hosted a special online launch for the beer on Aug. 22, where attendees learned about how the beer was made and the role of water reuse in a sustainable future.
Alberta Health Services’ Safe Healthy Environments (AHS-SHE) provided guidance during the process of creating a water safety plan for the project, according to the university.
The water was treated at ACWA using tertiary treatment technologies, including advanced oxidation and nano-filtration. Once the water was treated, it was tested to demonstrate that it met rigorous standards outlined by AHS-SHE for water reuse, including pathogen reduction requirements and Canadian Drinking Water Guidelines.
“Municipal wastewater was treated in a full-scale Biological Nutrient Removal treatment plant, and then additional advanced treatment was done using ultrafiltration, followed by advanced oxidation (ozone + ultraviolet treatment), then reverse osmosis,” according to the University of Calgary. “This multi-barrier process was monitored for the full duration of water production to ensure it met criteria specified by Alberta Health Services. Additional laboratory testing confirmed no presence of disinfection byproducts.”
According to the researchers at the university, other jurisdictions have developed multi-barrier treatment approaches to similar water reuse projects. This is the first project of its kind in Alberta, added the university.