The survey also found that terminology plays a role in the level of public acceptance for the use of recycled water. When reused water was referred to as “purified water,” respondents were more likely to be supportive (90 percent) of it as an additional local water supply than when the term “recycled water” (87 percent) or “reclaimed water” (82 percent) was used.

Recycled oilfield wastewater is already being used to irrigate about 90,000 acres of crops in California’s Central Valley, one of the world’s most productive agricultural regions.