(AP) — California regulators have approved new rules to let water agencies recycle wastewater and put it right back into the pipes that carry drinking water to homes, schools and businesses. Tuesday’s approval marks a big step for a drought-prone state that has struggled for decades to secure reliable sources of drinking water for its more than 39 million residents. California now becomes only the second state — after Colorado a year ago — to approve such statewide regulations. And Tuesday’s vote was heralded by some of California’s biggest water agencies, which all have plans to build huge water recycling plants in the coming years.