SANTA ANA, Calif., Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Some Californians soon may be drinking water that tastes fine, only it started out as sewer water.
Faced with a water shortage, the Orange County Water District is testing the viability of recycling sewer water -- be it from the sink, tub or toilet -- into drinking water, CNN reported.
"This is actually sewer water," Phil Anthony of Orange County Water District told CNN. "It's treated by sanitation district, then purified even more by us."
The sanitation-and-purification procedure is a three-step process. The first sifts out solid matter down to less than a hair's thickness. The second filters for viruses and pharmaceuticals. The final step bakes the water in a high intensity light.
"It tastes like distilled water," a water district employee told CNN.
It still must meet safety standards -- and an environmental group wants to ensure testers knows why they're testing the water. But if safety standards are met, district officials say taps in Orange County could be filled with a groundwater-recycled water mix as soon as six months.
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