He said the public can help by not letting certain products swirl down the drain to end up in the sewer system, particularly paint, gasoline and household solvents.

Cowan said the sewer district recently completed an expansion project that has reduced pollutants by a couple of tons per day — ingredients that would otherwise have ended up in the Great Salt Lake.

Utahns are lucky that they are served by mountain water runoff. However, in places along the Mississippi River, for example, water is indirectly reused downstream.

So, really, it is not a stretch to think that former sewer-treated water could end up in the drinking supply.

As for the water inside the sewer district's bottles....

Layton Councilman Renny Knowlton, who represents the city on the sewer board, handed out the bottled water at a recent meeting. The response was tepid, to say the least.

"Ooh!" some people said. "Gross!" others exclaimed.

Then Knowlton suddenly uncorked a bottle and downed it to prove it really was pure water, a small matter clarified on the otherwise over-descriptive label. In blue print down the side it says:

"This bottle contains, pure, safe, drinkable water. Not a product of the North Davis Sewer District."

In other words — "Just kidding!"

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E-mail: lynn@desnews.com