It is said that all politics is local, well maybe all conservation is local too.

In Southern California, where dwindling water resources have elevated water conservation to heightened levels of awareness, it is not uncommon to see signs like this outside of businesses and public facilities. Up until now we have considered there to be only three categories of municipal water: potable water, waste water and storm water.

Say hello to “utility” water. Utility water is wastewater treated to a level that is approved for irrigation, manufacturing and other non-drinking or non-potable purposes. If you think about it it’s completely ludicrous for us to be using perfectly good portable water to flush away our waste. As we as a species evolve and fundamentally reconsider our relationship and interaction with nature we have a glorious opportunity to fundamentally reconsider everything.

Exciting time to be alive!