Drought-Stricken California To Let Sewage Waste Become Drinking Water

This is a necessary solution to the "challenges of extreme weather driven by climate change," an official said.

Water recycled from toilets and showers could soon be flowing from taps in California, where years of drought have forced authorities to look at a wider array of options for residents’ water supply.

The State Water Resources Control Board voted Tuesday in favor of letting water companies pump recycled, treated wastewater into the state’s drinking water system, potentially adding “millions of gallons of additional drinking water to their supplies over time while avoiding costlier and more energy intensive water supplies,” the board said in a press release.

The new regulations won’t be finalized until they’re also approved by the state’s Office of Administrative Law next year.

Up until now, water companies have had to dump wastewater into the ocean or send it to farmland. But finding new sources of potable water is a necessity in California, where drought linked to rising global temperatures remains a major threat.

“This is an exciting development in the state’s ongoing efforts to find innovative solutions to the challenges of extreme weather driven by climate change,” E. Joaquin Esquivel, the water board’s chair, said in the press release, adding that “most importantly, these regulations ensure that the water produced is not only safe, but purer than many drinking water sources we now rely on.”