The emergency DPR experience: water quality lessons from Wichita Falls, TX

From 2011 to 2015, Wichita Falls, TX, faced a severe drought that dropped combined lake levels below 23%, prompting the city to implement an emergency direct potable reuse (DPR) system. The city proposed a plan to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in 2012 to treat wastewater through existing advanced and conventional treatment plants. After constructing the necessary interconnections, two full-scale verification tests were conducted in 2014. Following TCEQ approval, the City operated the DPR treatment facility from 9 July 2014 through 21 July 2015. During its operation, more than 2 billion gallons (7.6 million cubic meters) of highly treated wastewater effluent were turned into potable water. After a historic rainfall event in May 2015, the system was decommissioned, having had no major incidents during its 377 days of full-scale operation. Wichita Falls' experience demonstrates the feasibility of large-scale potable reuse under emergency conditions and provides valuable operational and regulatory insights for utilities considering potable reuse implementation.