By Chad Love

It's hard to overstate just how pernicious and devastating the effects of the ongoing drought in the southern plains have been. Lakes and rivers are drying up, city water supplies are dwindling, fish and wildlife are suffering and Texas alone has suffered over $5 billion in agricultural losses. Many are now asking if the drought is part of a paradigm shift in how we view water usage and conservation in this country. How much of a paradigm? Many cities are now actively looking at recycling wastewater into drinking water.

From this story in the Christian Science Monitor:

This summer, Texas' drought of the century is an uncomfortable reminder that often there just isn't enough water to go around. But the 40 consecutive days of triple-digit temperatures and minuscule rainfall may also be boosting the case for a new freshwater source being developed in Big Spring, Texas, and surrounding cities.