SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Today's Why Guy question is from Steven Kimes. He asked: "Why is the state of California not pursuing water recycling? San Diego provides 7% of its drinking water from recycling. It would seem to be the only viable long-term solution."
San Diego and much of Southern California are actively recycling water, but so is the rest of California. We can do more, and that's the plan.
Only 23% of the state's wastewater is recycled, and most of it is used on golf courses, farms, irrigation and parks.
It doesn't help with turning recycled water into drinking water, which requires additional and extensive-expensive filtration. California does have 37 desalination plants, turning salty water into drinking water.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said desalination is only one part of getting the state more usable water. Getting water and storing it is also key.
The governor recently visited the state's newest desalination facility in Antioch, which will turn brackish Delta water into drinking water.
How we've been getting water naturally has changed -- not the snow and rain we used to get. The plan over the next 25 years is to take our ocean, brackish and wastewater, make it usable for humans and store it.
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