The unanimous decision by the State Water Resources Control Board will open a new option for water supplies across the drought-prone state.
"This is so critical. It's long overdue," said Nichole Morgan, a board member.
Nothing will change overnight, as most projects are years away from further approvals and completion. Los Angeles and San Diego are among the communities exploring the concept; so is Valley Water in Santa Clara County, which hopes eventually to add recycled water to San Jose's water supply.
Water officials emphasize that the regulations are protective of public health. Given the extra treatment needed, "it's likely better quality water than (many other) drinking water systems are pulling in now," said Joaquin Esquivel, the water board's chair.
Still, public acceptance of such projects remains one of the biggest hurdles to such projects, which are sometimes dubbed "toilet to tap" or "flush to faucet."
" California has the most comprehensive regulations for water reuse in the nation, bar none," said Mark Gold, director of water scarcity solutions at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Still, he said that real-time monitoring for contaminants — as opposed to slightly-after-the-fact monitoring — was critical for helping the public get over the "ick" factor.
While real-time monitoring is not part of the new rules, it's something regulators will continue to mull as technology improves and costs come down.
The presence of contaminants that are not already known — the arrival several years ago of the coronavirus was a recent example — is one of several areas that will be closely watched.
Other concerns include the high cost of the water-cleansing methods, as well as the brine created at facilities treating the water.
Some wastewater in California is already reused. But the process is either less direct (the water may be pumped into an aquifer and mixed before it is withdrawn), or the water is used for agriculture, landscaping, industry or other non-drinking purposes.
Tuesday's approval — more than 10 years after the state began contemplating direct reuse of water for potable purposes — is not the final hurdle for the regulation. But it is the major milestone. The regulation now goes to more state agencies, including the California Environmental Protection Agency, and finally to the Office of Administrative Law. Final state sign-off is expected April 1, water board officials said.
"Today is a huge milestone, but all the work is not finished yet," said Randy Barnard, chief of the technical operations section at the water board's division of drinking water.
Jennifer West, managing director of the trade group WateReuse California, said California's regulation was a "model for the rest of the nation."
"It heralds a new era for water reuse in California," she said.
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