KANSAS CITY - The city of Wichita will fund a $1.2 million study that will explore the feasibility of reusing waste water.
The study will also look at state regulations and potential funding sources for such a project, and would seek public engagement and perform pilot projects.
The city routinely discharges more than 25 million gallons of treated wastewater each day to the Arkansas River, which would provide roughly half of the city’s average daily demand.
Spirit Aerosystems has been using treated waste water for industrial use only since 2015.
Public Works Director Gary Janzen says the city needs to be responsible and look ahead when it comes to having enough water. He added any timeline for completion may be roughly 5 years out, with potential impacts to water rates.
CDM Smith, who currently is working on the new BNR project in south Wichita, will conduct the engineering study.