Citizens up in arms are calling it toilet to tap. The actual term for this is potable reuse. It’s understandable for people to be alarmed and averse, but this has been the norm in many places for years.
Here, in our place of generous rainfall (for now — till we finish killing the local water cycle dead-dead through egregiously bad land management practices), if we would stop wasting water this won’t even be needed, could just be a technological knowhow we keep in reserve for extreme emergency.
We get 49 inches of rainfall a year historically. We can be collecting that rainwater off of every building and using it on the landscape, cutting down on demand for piped water.
We can also be planting appropriate plants instead of thirsty yet useless ornamental landscaping. Also not cutting down forests & wetlands in the first place.
Stop incentivizing the sprawl development with its huge wasteful yards.
BTW the whole planet is one big water recycling system. Water is constantly recycled through rainfall, transpiration, percolation into the aquifer, etc. By protecting the natural sponge and rainfall cycle we protect the natural filtration system.
Banning potable reuse won’t fix things. Making it our top priority to restore and protect the natural water cycle will. We should set the bar as high as possible. As a model, I highly recommend the Drinkable Rivers Project.
Imagine all the things you have to have in place for your rivers (and springs) to be drinkable! Sure would solve a lot.
Also, we should all embrace the concept of “sponge cities,” as Singapore and China and so many other places further along the curve have done.
PS. Drought, flood, and fire are three sides of the same coin. It’s all about restoring the water cycle.