El Paso, Texas is planning to reuse their sewage water for human consumption.
They are building a closed loop advanced purification system which will filter the water.
"It's the logical next step for us to take," said Gilbert Trejo, the chief technical officer of El Paso Water.
One of the main water sources for El Paso is the Rio Grande, which due to climate change, has less water to offer.
El Paso has a population of 700,000 with annual rainfall of 9 inches.
According to El Paso Water, the city consumed water at a rate of 205 gallons per person per day in 1985. As of 2017, that number is down to 128 gallons per person per day, but it's still not enough.
El Paso is not the first city to drink treated sewage water. Others such as Orange County, California and Scottsdale, Arizona treat their sewage water then pump it back into their aquifers.
El Paso's closed loop system will not pump sewage water into the aquifer, but undergo additional filtration steps then go directly into the drinking water.
"Technology allows us to treat [water] to a very high standard and makes it very safe to drink," Trejo said.
(CNN contributed to this report)
