Potty water: Residents may be squeamish about wastewater reuse

April 15, 2014
In an interview with Betsy Blaney of the Associated Press, Russell Schreiber, the Wichita Falls’ water utilities director, noted that the city is trying to keep people with a viable supply of drinking water.  

Many areas of the country have been drought stricken. From Texas and Illinois to Wyoming and parts of Oregon, droughts have been a wide spread problem, naturally leading to water conservations efforts.

Using low-flow toilets, shower heads, faucets, etc., definitely helps curb water use, and some states such as Arizona and California are utilizing wastewater reuse plants to recycle water.    

In an interview with Betsy Blaney of the Associated Press, Russell Schreiber, the Wichita Falls’ water utilities director, noted that the city is trying to keep people with a viable supply of drinking water:

The wastewater reuse program will save a third of residents’ current daily usage, Schreiber said. Fifty percent of the water would come from toilets; dish and clothes washers; and sinks, showers and baths.

 Yet, the idea of drinking recycled water that came from toilets may make some squeamish.

“Honestly, would anyone be OK drinking potty water?” House of Flowers owner Karen Gibson said when interviewed by Blaney. “For my plants, that would be no problem. That would be a fertilizer, so to speak. I don’t think it could be any good for anybody to drink.”

Read more from Betsy Blaney’s article “Wichita Falls awaits OK for wastewater reuse.”  

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