Applause for Wichita Falls

The people of Wichita Falls deserve a salute for their ingenuity and willingness to try something new in the face of the recent — but thankfully over — severe drought.

They were willing to drink what became known as “potty water.” That was really a misnomer, but it was treated wastewater mixed half-and-half with fresh lake water, treated again and put into the drinking water system.

Now, thanks to heavy rains, lakes are full and the “potty water” experiment is over. Nobody in Wichita Falls seems to have suffered ill effects from the water they drank.

The city survived.

Long-lasting change has come. For one thing, Wichita Falls will continue to capture treated wastewater and will pump it directly into Lake Arrowhead for reuse in the normal drinking water chain.

And even though water is now plentiful, residents seem to have learned the value of conservation. They’re using 16 million to 17 million gallons a day, down from 30 million to 35 million before the drought.

Nobody wants that kind of terrible drought to happen again, but everyone knows it’s possible. People who handle it as well as Wichita Falls will be fine.

This story was originally published July 28, 2015 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Applause for Wichita Falls."