Californians are facing the prospect of eating their own faeces with the treatment of sewage into drinking water gaining appeal as the drought lingers.

The idea comes with a palpable 'yuck factor', as the LA Times put it, but many scientists believe it can be safe and is a more efficient use for moderately treated sewage that is currently being flushed into the Pacific Ocean.

"That water is discharged into the ocean and lost forever," Tim Quinn, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies, told the Times. "Yet it's probably the single largest source of water supply for California over the next quarter-century."

Several experts have asserted that if proper and thorough filtration is carried out to remove bacteria, treated sewage can pose no damaging health effects and even be cleaner than commercial bottled water.

Treated sewage is already employed for 'non-potable' (undrinkable) uses such as irrigating golf courses, but has thus far not been used for drinking water due to major opposition from the public, who seem to fear the ouroboros 'ick' factor of it.

The pressures of the drought might sway people however.

Incredible pictures of the California drought Show all 15 1 /15 Incredible pictures of the California drought Incredible pictures of the California drought Lemoore A sign referencing the drought is posted next to a fallow field in Lemoore Incredible pictures of the California drought Fresno Dead trees stand in a field in Fresno Incredible pictures of the California drought Lemoore A dust devil kicks up dirt as it forms over an empty field in Madera Incredible pictures of the California drought Oroville Low water levels are visible at Lake Oroville near the Bidwell Bar Bridge in Oroville Incredible pictures of the California drought Raymond A fisherman sits on the banks of Hensley Lake in Raymond as California enters its fourth year of severe drought, the State's reservoirs are shrinking due to lack of Sierra snow pack and very little rain. Hensley Lake is currently at 8 percent of its 90,000 acre feet capacity Incredible pictures of the California drought Raymond Low water levels are visible at Hensley Lake in Raymond Incredible pictures of the California drought Raymond A bouy sits on what used to be the bottom of Hensley Lake in Raymond Incredible pictures of the California drought Los Padres National Forest Dead and dying trees are seen in a forest stressed by historic drought conditions in Los Padres National Forest near Frazier Park. According to an aerial survey conducted by the U.S. Forest Service in April 2015, about 12 million trees have died in California forestlands in the past year because of extreme drought Incredible pictures of the California drought Firebaugh Dry cracked earth is visible near an almond orchard in Firebaugh Incredible pictures of the California drought Los Angeles An empty water reservoir is seen in the hills above Los Angeles Incredible pictures of the California drought Rancho Santa Fe Aerial view overlooking landscaping in Rancho Santa Fe, California Getty Incredible pictures of the California drought Rancho Santa Fe Aerial view overlooking landscaping in Rancho Santa Fe, California Getty Incredible pictures of the California drought San Diego Aerial view overlooking landscaping in San Diego, California Incredible pictures of the California drought San Diego Aerial view overlooking landscaping in San Diego, California Getty Incredible pictures of the California drought San Diego Aerial view overlooking landscaping in San Diego, California Getty

"I don't support it," said one Californian. "But we're running out of options."

Professor George Tchobanoglous, a water treatment expert from UC Davis in California, pointed to 20 wastewater plants currently discharging into the Colorado River that could be harnessed. "That's what I call de facto potable reuse," he told the Times.