BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. - It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it -- turning the water we flush down the toilet into reusable, clean water.

In today's "Maggie Monday," our Maggie Crane takes on the dirty job.

The Bonita Springs Utility churns out four million gallons of reclaimed water every day. But before it gets to that point, you're not going to believe some of the stuff these guys have found flushed away over the years.

Reclaimed water sprinkles once-sewer water onto lawns. Meaning once you flush, the waste water is recycled at the Bonita Springs Utility plant before it's pumped to gulf courses and homes in the area.

"The guys do find these kinds of things in here all the time -- anything from dollar bills to toys, golf balls, diamond rings, you name it," Mike Liggins, director of engineering, says.

More of what people waste may surprise you.

"Bills just started coming in as fast as we could pick 'em off the screens," Cliff Morris, lead operator, says. "They were just coming in. We figured it was a big drug bust or something and they just flushed it!"

A total of $2,300 came down and were cleaned off. "Money laundering!" he jokes, but Morris and fellow workers did split the cash.

Jokes aside, it does demonstrate the first step in how the plant works.

"That's raw sewage," Morris says pointing down to brown water flowing beneath the plant.

Screens separate big and small objects that don't belong and send them down a chute. "Hair and some of the smaller stuff that makes it through the screens," Liggins says.

Then, tiny bugs that you can't even see start breaking down the sewage in these two tanks. So far, it seems like a pretty clean process. But wait.

Employees have to test the sewage to make sure the water treatment is working. They do that by filling a container with sewage, and sometimes they get splashed.

"We're looking for a certain concentration of bugs in it to show that the process is on target," Morris says.

Rooms full of this equipment supports what goes on in the tanks and is monitored in a control room.

After the bugs break down waste, the remaining water gets pushed through specialized membranes that are full of microscopic holes that keep the good in and the bad out. "They're the heart of the facility for the physical separation of the water and the sludge," Liggins says.

What's wasted comes here.

"This is the pellet plant," Liggins says.

Where human solid waste is transformed into fertilizer. Meanwhile, the water is chemically treated to kill any leftover bacteria.

"At this point the water is clean and clear," Liggins says.

So the sewage water that comes in winds up going out almost good enough to drink. Almost. While the birds and fish that drink and live in it don't seem to mind, in case you need a reminder, don't drink the water!

Only 13 people staff the plant, which is a growing problem since the utility reports a shortage of new people getting into the business. The staffing shortage coincides with massive U.S. infrastructure challenges like funding shortfalls.

If you have an idea for "Maggie Mondays," send Maggie an email at maggie.crane@winktv.com.