If you knew that the water you were about to drink was recycled, would you put it down? It’s clear, odor-free, and tastes just like water. C’mon take a taste. You won’t know the difference. Still, hesitant?

Hilary Godwin, professor at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, understands the “ick” factor associated with drinking recycled water. She co-authored a recent study in the American Journal of Public Health touting the health benefits of recycled water.

Never one to shy away from controversial water policy, Wolk, a Davis Democrat whose district formerly included Stockton, is pushing a bill that would require local agencies to place conditions on new well construction — in some cases, at least.

The state is already implementing new laws regulating the use of precious groundwater for the first time in California, but it will be decades before all regions of the state are required to reach sustainable levels of use.Wolk’s bill, which passed out of committee last week, is intended to speed up compliance.

Big economic interests have invested heavily in convincing residents of California, and Santa Barbara in particular, that we are running out of water.

The policies they have pushed create a feeling of anxiety that rises to panic in many people. Imposition of 20% to 35% reductions on urban water use have led to the belief that any expenditure is appropriate to keep the drought from our doors. What is ignored is that California is always in a drought, or coming out of a drought.

Six years ago, a bill to force a legislative vote on the peripheral canal went before a state Assembly committee. It died there without a vote.
Four years ago, the same bill got five votes.
And on Tuesday a similar bill — this time calling for a vote of the public — got eight votes, enough to narrowly pass the Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.The bill is a long way from becoming law, but the shift in support over time has encouraged Delta advocates.