California’s New Water Recycling Rules Turn Wastewater To Tapwater. What This Means For You

Water recycling — once dubbed “toilet-to-tap” by naysayers — has officially entered a new era in California.

This month, statewide regulations for what’s technically called “direct potable reuse” went into effect. The rules allow wastewater — yes, the water that goes down the drain or is flushed down the toilet — to be treated to drinkable standards then distributed directly to homes and businesses.