Texas City Working To Turn Sewer Water Into Tap Water (+video)
Photo Credit: Titanas/flickrDrastic times call for drastic measures. But what would it take for you to drink tap water that had been recycled straight from the sewer?
The concept sounds crazy but it could happen soon in one North Texas city. Wichita Falls is two hours outside of Dallas. Three years ago 88-percent of Texas was under exceptional drought conditions – that’s the worst classification of drought. Today there are just two small areas that still have that designation and the city of Wichita Falls is in one of them.
You need drive no further than nearby Lake Arrowhead to see how bad the drought is. The lake is one of the main water sources for the town, but it’s only at about 27-percent capacity. Boat docks stand 10 to 15 feet above dry land and the nearest water is hundreds of feet away. The lake bed is littered with dead fish and shells. When the wind blows you’re reminded of a dustbowl.
Every time the water in the lake drops, officials in Wichita Falls consider enacting more severe water restrictions. Through conservation efforts, city water usage dropped from between 45 and 50 million gallons of water each day before the drought, to 12 million gallons a day now. But the water savings still aren’t enough.
“This reuse system will put five million gallons [of water] back in the distribution system a day,” explained Mayor Glenn Barham. “So, it saves us taking five million gallons out of the lake.”
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