In our Reality Check stories, Wichita Eagle journalists dig deeper into questions over facts, consequences and accountability. Story idea? [email protected].
The largest city in Kansas is looking to join two cities across the globe — Big Spring, Texas and Windhoek, Namibia — in converting what is flushed down the toilet into what comes out of the water tap — treating sewage to drinking water standards and pumping it directly into the water supply.
The Wichita City Council on Tuesday approved spending nearly $10 million on developing a direct potable reuse program and constructing a small-scale water purification plant to treat wastewater to drinking water standards. It would provide proof of concept that could be used to educate the public and inform regulators and elected officials to build support for a full-scale reuse facility…