A plan for a new filtration system in California has certainly raised some eyebrows, as state regulators recently approved the move to use advanced filtration and treatment facilities to convert sewage waste into drinking water.

Director of research at the Pacific Institute think tank, Heather Cooley, said, “We’re creating a new source of supply that we were previously discharging or thinking of as waste. As we look to make our communities more resilient to drought, to climate change, this is really going to be an important part of that solution.”

The water can be pumped into millions of homes thanks to technology that recycles wastewater into drinking water.

Critics had at one time labeled this method as ‘toilet to tap,’ but in recent years the plan gained more credit as California dealt with increasing drought due to climate change.

Proponents of the plan point out that this is a similar to systems used by astronauts who recycle their wastewater on the International Space Station. Wastewater is also frequently recycled throughout the world for usage, with many also finding ways to turn it into drinkable water.

The changes have been introduced by the State Water Resources Control Board and it will see some of the hundreds of millions of gallons of wastewater being brought back into the system.

Patricia Sinicropi, executive director of the recycling trade group, WateReuse California, told Reuters the change, “heralds a new era of water reuse.”

Would you drink recycled wastewater, or are you off to the grocery store for mineral water?

I’m personally going to still filter all the water that comes out of the tap.

If you think that’s impressive, check out this story about a “goldmine” of lithium that was found in the U.S. that could completely change the EV battery game.