California regulators have approved new rules to let water agencies recycle wastewater and put it right back into the pipes that carry drinking water to homes, schools and businesses

When a toilet is flushed in California, the water can end up in a lot of places: An ice skating rink near Disneyland, ski slopes around Lake Tahoe, farmland in the Central Valley.

And — coming soon — kitchen faucets.

California regulators on Tuesday approved new rules to let water agencies recycle wastewater and put it right back into the pipes that carry drinking water to homes, schools and businesses.

It’s a big step for a state that has struggled for decades to secure reliable sources of drinking water for its more than 39 million residents. And it signals a shift in public opinion on a subject that as recently as two decades ago prompted backlash that scuttled similar projects.

  • Flying Squid
    link
    2711 months ago

    I remember the City of Los Angeles trying to do that when I lived there 10+ years ago and opponents successfully blocked it by calling it “toilet to tap” as if piss and shit would literally come out of your faucets. Good for California.

    • The Pantser
      link
      2111 months ago

      Good ole toilet to tap pipeline, not as popular as the school to prison one.