Toilet water flushed in California can now be treated and converted into drinking water for use in homes, schools and businesses as the state struggles with water shortages.
In a move dubbed “toilet-to-tap,” California officials passed new regulations that allow water departments to recycle wastewater from showers and toilets to provide drinking water.
Suppliers are now permitted, but not obliged, to clean the wastewater and return it to the drinking water system of hundreds of thousands of households.
California is expected to become the second state after Colorado to adopt these rules, as the Golden State struggled with extreme droughts last year and struggled to provide drinking water to its 39 million residents.
Darrin Polhemus, the director of the state Water Resources Control Board's drinking water division, said, “When it's finished, it will actually be the highest quality water delivered in the state.”
Toilet water flushed in California is now being treated and turned into drinking water used in homes, schools and businesses as the state prepares for water shortages. Pictured: the Salton Sea in California
California is expected to become the second state after Colorado to adopt these rules, as the Golden State struggled with extreme droughts last year and struggled to provide drinking water to its 39 million residents. Pictured: Elizabeth Lake in California
Public opinion is divided on the issue after similar projects sparked backlash two decades ago
When the proposal emerged in the 1990s, opponents opposed to the idea of sending toilet water to homes for reuse called it “toilet to faucet.”
But the regulations were unanimously approved by the Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday after more than 1,200 wells dried up in the state last year, leaving half a million acres of farmland fallow.
Officials in San Diego, Los Angeles and Santa Clara are preparing to build water treatment systems, the New York Times reports.
Officials said it will provide three different levels of treatment to clean the wastewater and ensure it meets drinking water standards.
“If one fails, there are two left in its place as a backup to ensure nothing goes untreated,” Polhemus said.
According to the new regulations, the wastewater is cleaned of all pathogens and viruses along the way through activated carbon filters and reverse osmosis membranes.
The water that has already been recycled is disinfected using, among other things, UV light.
“It has the same quality of drinking water and in many cases is probably even better,” Polhemus said.
When the proposal emerged in the 1990s, opponents opposed to the idea of sending toilet water to homes for reuse called it “toilet to faucet.”
“It has the same quality of drinking water and in many cases is probably even better,” officials said
Three different levels of treatment are provided to purify the wastewater to ensure it meets drinking water standards
Officials also noted that drinking recycled wastewater is not a new practice, as treated water flows back into rivers and streams before reaching cities for daily consumption.
“Anyone out there who draws drinking water downstream from a wastewater treatment plant discharge — which I promise you all do — is already drinking toiletries from the tap,” Joaquin Esquivel, chief executive, said Tuesday.
“All water is recycled.” “What we have here are standards, science and, importantly, monitoring that gives us the confidence that this is pure water,” Esquivel added.
The new rules are expected to improve overall water supplies in the state, home to more than 39 million residents and the country's largest agricultural industry.
In the Gold State's three driest years on record, wells dried up, farmland lay fallow and wildfires ravaged mountainsides.
Although violent storms that dumped record amounts of rain and snow effectively ended the state's three-year drought in 2023, officials warn of new challenges.
“We have rain now, but it is very likely that we will experience another dry spell, and wastewater is always a reliable source.” “Every community, even during a drought, generates wastewater,” Polhemus said.
“Direct potable reuse is just a really important strategy for our state … and to increase our resiliency and reduce our reliance on imported water,” said Laurel Firestone, board member.
According to the new regulations, the wastewater is cleaned of all pathogens and viruses along the way through activated carbon filters and reverse osmosis membranes
Construction of the large and expensive facilities is expected to take around six to seven years
Public opinion is divided on the issue after similar projects sparked backlash two decades ago.
One California resident told CBS on Tuesday, “Going from sewage to drinking water sounds a little gross.”
The rules will be submitted to the state's Office of Administrative Law by summer or fall next year, and local water departments will vote on whether to implement them in their cities.
“No one is going to do this without first going through a public process, educating the public, getting their buy-in and moving forward,” Polhemus said.
The facilities, which are large and expensive to build, are expected to take about six to seven years to complete, according to KTLA.
“So in the near future no one will resort to direct reuse of drinking water,” Polhemus added.