A North Texas city dealing with extreme drought has begun treating wastewater in a state-approved recycling process to bolster drinking supplies.
Wichita Falls on Wednesday began reusing millions of gallons of water at the River Road Waste Treatment plant that's been purified to meet government drinking standards. The water is then sent by a 12 mile pipeline to the Cypress Water Treatment Plant for additional purification.
The lingering Texas drought has sent reservoirs to low levels in the Wichita Falls area, where drinking water is needed for about 150,000 users.
The city is operating under a Stage 5 drought catastrophe, which bans outdoor watering and urges conservation.
The Texas Commission of Environmental Quality in late June approved the Wichita Falls program for a period not to exceed six months.
