Jerry Sanders on Environment

Ensure water reliability via desalination and purchasing

Convert wastewater into drinking water

To perform the pilot study, the city built a test facility at the North City Water Reclamation Plant, where the city purifies wastewater into so-called "reclaimed" water that can be used for industrial, landscaping and other non-drinking purposes. The new facility will purify this water even further--in theory, into water clean and safe enough to drink.

The finished product will be pumped back into the reclaimed water system after testing, meaning none of the water in this pilot study will be put into the city's drinking supply. This year-long testing of one million gallons a day will provide scientific data that will help determine whether the process is clean and safe.