Video: An extreme drought in Texas is forcing the town of Wichita Falls to take drastic action, using treated waste water for drinking. NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez reports.
Desperate drought conditions in parts of bone-dry Texas have called for desperate measures.
Residents of Wichita Falls, population 100,000, fear they will run out of water within two years. So city officials found a way to flush away their worries.
The city has built a new 13-mile pipeline connecting its waste treatment plant directly to a second facility that purifies drinking water. That means treated wastewater — not just from toilets, but from sinks, bathtubs and dishwashers — will no longer be released down river as before. Instead, it will soon flow out of household faucets.
"The water that's coming in to the water treatment plant has already been treated once at the wastewater plant. It's not receiving raw, untreated sewage,” Daniel Nix of Wichita Falls Public Works told NBC's Gabe Gutierrez.
But some people are calling the process “toilet to tap” and have already switched to bottled water.
"Just the very thought that you might be drinking your own wastewater is never comforting,” said Wichita Falls resident Tim McMillin.
Widespread drought has changed the way the nation thinks about water. Other areas, including Orange County, Calif., have added some treated wastewater to some of their drinking supply.
But the percentage being used in Wichita Falls, about half of the city’s tap water, will be the highest in the country.
"We don’t have any other options,” said resident Julie Spence, owner of Gidget’s Sandwich Shop.
City officials said the Texas Department of Environmental Quality expects to finish its testing process within the next 30 days.
Darron Leiker, Wichita Falls city manager, expressed confidence that everything will clear all safety criteria.
“It will meet or exceed all state and federal drinking standards,” he said.
MikeChristine (a.k.a.Joebxer, HarryP, etc.) have been doing that for years. Only they skip the treating/purification part and drink it straight from the bowl.
George Amedore & Christian Klueg for NYS Senate 2016 Pete Vroman for State Assembly 2016[/size][/color]
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground." Lyndon Baines Johnson
MikeChristine (a.k.a.Joebxer, HarryP, etc.) have been doing that for years. Only they skip the treating/purification part and drink it straight from the bowl.
Wow, such a brilliant contribution from the town moRON! Wipe that $hit eating grin off your face!!!!! So what country did Bush defend? Still waiting for you on that one!!!!!
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
They can all just pretend they are astronauts.(astronauts drink recycled urine)
The only difference is that the urine they drink didn't go into the raw sewage tank first. It's strictly filtered urine
We are advised NOT to judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works.
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