The water you drink has most likely been drunk before — by a person, by a person thousands of years ago or even by a dinosaur.

You drink reused water daily. And if there is going to be enough water to go around, Oregon is going to need to get more serious about reclaiming used water, purifying it and using it again.

The Legislature has directed that the state boost water reuse in the past, but as the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said late last year: “Previous initiatives that aimed to address water reuse in the state have been incomplete or unrealized, primarily due to a lack of sustained resources.”

This session, there is another attempt with House Bill 2169. Reps. Ken Helm, D-Beaverton, and Mark Owens, R-Crane, are the leaders on many state water issues and worked on this bill.

The bill declares water reuse is state policy. It also directs the Department of Environmental Quality and the Water Resources Department to develop an interagency water reuse team.

The city of Bend is behind the bill.

“As a growing High Desert community, Bend recognizes the critical importance of sustainable water practices to ensure our long-term water security,” Mike Buettner, Bend’s water services director, told a legislative committee on Monday. “House Bill 2169 is a step toward creating a more flexible set of water management tools for cities across Oregon.”

Buettner said Arizona, Nevada, Texas and Utah are working on setting new requirements for direct reuse of drinking water. California has already done so.

The city of Bend has one water reuse customer for irrigation, Pronghorn Golf Club at Juniper Preserve. The city delivered about 183 million gallons of water to it in 2024.

This bill wouldn’t mean immediate changes. It would help create the framework for changes for more water reuse.

Water reuse can come with an inescapable “ewww” reaction. But all drinking water must adhere to the same national standards for safety.

California law had required water purified from a sewer system to be injected underground first before it could be used as drinking water. It’s called indirect potable reuse. It makes the idea of drinking reused water more appealing. But is the extra step really necessary? No. Some day, Oregon may have widespread direct potable reuse. HB 2169 may help get the state there.

Drink up.