WASHINGTON — Occupants of 11,000 new single-family houses under construction near Tracy will be able to recycle their shower, bath, laundry and sink water on site using a system designed by Australian water engineers, one of dozens of new water technologies the White House will showcase at its big “water summit” Tuesday.
Hoping to leapfrog a Congress still trying to wring more water out of California’s over-drafted rivers, the Obama administration wants to replicate for water the push it made on solar power nearly eight years ago to jump start new technologies and coordinate the federal response to droughts.
President Obama views efforts to address climate change as a key piece of his legacy, and White House officials view drought as among the most dire consequences of a warming climate. After last fall’s climate talks in Paris, the administration immediately targeted water as a priority.