Indirect Potable Reuse Pipeline hits milestone, pumping 10 billion gallons into Lake Arrowhead

by: Curtis Jackson

Posted: Jun 9, 2023 / 03:44 PM CDT

Updated: Jun 9, 2023 / 06:18 PM CDT

WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL)—Since 2018, the Indirect Potable Reuse Pipeline has been pumping billions of gallons of water back into lakes, and just recently the City of Wichita Falls is saying we’ve hit a huge milestone with the pipeline. Director of Public Works, Russell Schreiber said since being online for five years now with a constant flow for the past two, he said the pipeline has helped pump 10 billion gallons of water back into Lake Arrowhead.

You may remember a huge pipe snaking 17 miles through Wichita Falls as the pipeline was being prepared to recycle wastewater, well five years later and Schreiber said the project has been well worth it.

"I know the mayor said this a couple of times, but it's like it's raining every day over at lake arrowhead, eight million gallons, and it's helped, and it will help, and it will continue to help, so we believe it was certainly worth it because some of the stuff we went through during the drought, 2011 through 2015, we don't want to go there again," Schreiber said.

How it works is water gets pumped from the wastewater treatment plant.It is then treated, filtered, and polished before being pumped out into Lake Arrowhead, providing some much-needed help, especially during dry spells.

"Utilizing this to shore up our supply, it's going to make us more drought resistant it won't make us completely drought tolerant that doesn't mean we won't have drought restrictions again at some point like we’re under now, but it will prolong the actual supply and stretch out those water restrictions," Schreiber said.

Schreiber said the pipeline has been so successful, other towns have reached out to him for advice on installing their own reuse pipeline.

"the City of Guymon Oklahoma as well as the Environmental Commission from Oklahoma came and met with us last week about reuse and what all we did and what we’re doing today we took them and toured the facility and they were very impressed with how we’re utilizing that resource," Schreiber said.

A resource that Schreiber said will continue to benefit the county for many years to come.

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