Drought-hit state plans $140m expansion at world’s biggest treatment facility to recycle more waste water The golden state’s historic drought is forcing once-squeamish Californians to take a new look at “toilet-to-tap” water re-use. Or as they prefer to call it in Fountain Valley, “showers to flowers”. The town in conservative Orange County is home to the largest water recycling plant in the world and an example during this epic drought of the life-altering changes California will have to make to avoid running out of water.

The first would be to get over the idea that water is an infinite resource, or that it pours out of the tap straight from a pristine, underground spring. This is the third year of drought in the west. By July end, more than half of California fell into the worst category of “exceptional drought”. The state has made it illegal to hose down a sidewalk or operate a fountain, punishable by a $500 (£297) fine. But those measures are largely symbolic, and the state is going to have to do much more to guarantee California a long-term supply of water.

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