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We all know that recycling is a good thing. But recycling sewage water?

According to Discovery News, the drought in Texas has gotten so desperate that the town of Big Spring is considering recycling toilet water for its 27,000 residents.While it sounds unusual (and more than a little gross), it’s not that uncommon. NASA, for example, has a system in which it filters urine directly to salvage water.

(PHOTOS: Drought in China)

However, the process in Texas would work a little differently than NASA’s system. “We’re taking treated effluent (wastewater), normally discharged into a creek, and blending it with (traditionally supplied potable) water,” Big Spring’s district manager, John Grant, told Discovery.

Which might not be enough to reassure the squeamish, but with less than 0.1 inches of rain in the region for months, you do what you have to do.

PHOTOS: A Thirsty Land