World first: Ski resort to make fake snow from treated sewage

PA

They say 'never eat yellow snow' - but what about skiing over it?

A ski resort in Arizona is planning to become the first in the world to use treated sewage to create fake snow to use when the real white stuff runs dry.

The city of Flagstaff in Arizona has agreed to sell reclaimed water from one of its wastewater treatment plants to the Arizona Snowbowl resort 15 miles away in the San Francisco Peaks, where it will be stored in a reservoir from where it can be sprayed through large fans into the cold air to provide artificial snow for the slopes.

But the plans are coming up against opposition from Native American tribes and environmental agencies.

Klee Benally, a Navajo, told the Daily Mail: 'Our identity is based on our relationship with these sacred places and this - having the source of our spiritual renewal become so contaminated and desecrated - is a direct threat to our survival.'

Environmentalists also disagree with The US Envirommental Protection Agency which says using reclaimed water is safe because it's been treated.

They suggest that it still may contain hormones, carcinogens and organic chemicals that could threaten animals and soil in the area.

The plans have got the go-ahead, but various legal actions against it have now stalled the project since 2005, although a lawyer representative of the Save the Peaks Coalition says that Snowbowl are 'putting down pipes' while lawsuits are pending.

What do you think of the idea of using reclaimed waste water to create artificial snow for ski resorts? Leave a comment below...

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