Drip Tray Water

No matter what kind of coffee is made, this machine passes so much water. I feel like I need to empty it out after every other cup I make. And the drip tray holds so much water. It feels so wasteful.

Am I crazy to dump the water back into the reservoir? This is just water that either exits through the steam wand or gets bypassed the group head right? It can’t be “that” dirty.