Connor Sonnenberg, foreground left, and Billy Kinn, foreground right, drink wastewater that was sterilized at the PureWater Colorado Mobile Demonstration using a method that involves carbon-based purification, on Oct. 14, 2021, in Colorado Springs, Colo.The Associated Press
Though there are still only about two dozen communities in the U.S. using some form of recycled water for drinking, that number is projected to more than double in the next 15 years, according to WateReuse, a group that helps cities adopt such conservation practices. In Colorado, over two dozen facilities already recycle water for non-drinking purposes, which is more affordable than cleaning it for drinking. But growing populations mean cities could need to pull additional supply from the Colorado River, which is already strained from overuse.
Not all water can be recycled locally. Often, Western communities are required to send treated wastewater back to its source, so that it can eventually be used by other places that depend on that same body of water.
Drink water like out of the toilet? HaHAHaHa.