California Approves 'Direct Potable Reuse' Regulations for Sewage Water

Highly Purified Sewage Water to Become Drinking Water Following Multi-Stage Treatment Process

California officials have approved regulations to allow sewage water that's been highly purified to become drinking water, a process known as 'direct potable reuse'.
The process involves multiple stages of treatment, including ozone bubbling, bacterial digestion, activated carbon filtration, reverse osmosis, oxidizer cleansing, UV light exposure, and regular drinking water treatment.
The new regulations still need to be finalized through the Office of Administrative Law in 2024, after which water systems can submit plans for direct potable use projects.
Despite concerns about the presence of chemicals and their metabolites in sewage water, officials and experts assure that the process is safe and the treated water meets or exceeds current drinking water standards.
Large cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, and the San Francisco Bay area are expected to be among the first to implement the new regulations, with the first direct potable reuse plant expected to be operational in at least five years.