157. Harbinger; Effluent

From, “As ‘Yuck Factor’ Subsides, Treated Wastewater Flows From Taps,” by Felicity Barringer, 2/9/12, The New York Times:

Almost hidden in the northern hills, the pilot water treatment plant here [San Diego] does not seem a harbinger of revolution. It cost $13 million, uses long-established technologies and produces a million gallons a day.

….

With climate change threatening to diminish water supplies in the fast-growing Southwest, more cities are considering the potential of reclaimed water. A new report from the National Academy of Sciences said that if coastal communities used advanced treatment procedures on the effluent that is now sent out to sea, it could increase the amount of municipal water available by as much as 27 percent.

Harbinger: one that indicates or foreshadows what is to come; a forerunner

Effluent: Something that flows out or forth, especially: A stream flowing out of a body of water, an outflow from a sewer or sewage system, a discharge of liquid waste, as from a factory or nuclear plant