This move has become crucial for California struggling to provide drinking water to its 38 million residents
Toilet or shower wastewater in California will no longer just be dumped into the Pacific Ocean or used for farmland but it’ll be recycled into drinking water as part of a new program by California’s Water Resources Control Board.
The board approved new regulations in a unanimous vote earlier this week, making California the second state after Colorado to recycle wastewater into drinking water.
The Direct Potable Reuse is a program designed to pump recycled water into the public drinking water system, CNN reported.
Board Chair Joaquin Esquivel said the goal is to protect public health while reducing the state’s dependency on the shrinking water supply from the Colorado River.
“The reality is that anyone out there on Mississippi River, anyone out there on Colorado River, anyone out there taking drinking water downstream from a wastewater treatment plant discharge – which I promise you you’re all doing – is already drinking toilet to tap,” said Esquivel.
Orange County’s Groundwater Replenishment System, the world’s largest purification system, recycles 100% of local wastewater.
This move has become crucial for California, which struggles to provide drinking water to its 38 million residents amid worsening droughts, with over 97% of the state experiencing moderate to severe drought in 2023.
A 2022 water supply and demand report indicates that 18% of water suppliers are at risk of potential shortages.
The state has struggled to overcome residents’ distaste for “toilet to tap” water, which was unpopular in the 1990s and failed to address the issue.
Despite the negative moniker, the regulations are key to public trust and protecting public health, Esquivel said.
“What we have here are standards, science, and importantly monitoring that allow us to have safe pure water — it’s actually likely better-quality water than many of those systems are pulling in now,” Esquivel added.
About half of tap water may be contaminated with “forever chemicals,” according to a study from the US Geological Survey.
“These new regulations give water managers a critical new tool as we confront the challenges of climate change,” the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California said in a statement.
“They will enable Metropolitan to advance development of Pure Water Southern California, which will be one of the largest water recycling facilities in the world and benefit 19 million people in our service area.”
