"Russell Schreiber, the city's public works director [is] the force behind one of the most controversial plans in Texas: The use of treated wastewater for public consumption. It's a bold move — and a tough sell. Tim McMillin, a radio host and father in Wichita Falls, is one of the many residents who doesn't like the idea of drinking treated waste water. "Just the concept of drinking the water that yesterday you sent along its merry way ... I don't think anybody wants that." Here's how it works. Four stages of high-tech filters remove all solid material from the water. The final stage is a process called reverse osmosis, which strips nearly everything out of the water but the basic hydrogen and oxygen molecules."
"Treated water alone can't save this community. This is the driest three-year period in recorded history. It started with a brutal summer heat wave in 2011, when Wichita Falls endured more than 100 days of temperatures above 100 degrees and saw a mere 13 inches of rain.
Drought restrictions are in place, prohibiting all outdoor water usage. City officials will begin issuing fines up to $2,000 for people who turn on the hose, wash their cars or fill their pools."
Public drought awareness is at its highest for Wichita Falls.
http://www.weather.com/news/science/environment/wichita-falls-texas-cracked-20140423
Wichita Falls, Texas
is 34 inches of precipitation below normal over the last three years,
helping to drain the water from Lake Arrowhead. (Stephen Neslage/The
Weather Channel)
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