DU space/solar experts: Is it theoretically possible for a solar-powered...

[Salviati]

17. I guess I'm not sure what you're arguing...

You seem to be saying that if you have enough extra water, then you wouldn't need to recondense the water from the environment, but rather, I'd argue that whether you need the water for drinking or not, you need to recondense the water from the environment to maintain the suitability of the environment. If there is any open water in the environment, then over time the humidity will increase to 100% unless you take active measures to recondense the water.

On some level, the recondensing is a separate issue from the reusability of the water. Even if the recaptured water was somehow rendered non-potable, it would still be important to remove it from the air, to keep it from causing problems in your habitat, recycling the water for re-use is just a bonus. It's not an extra thing that you could do if it weren't too hard, it's something that you have to do, if you want to keep your habitat in good operating shape for a decent period of time.