Wichita is getting serious about turning what goes down the drain into something you can drink, and city leaders are backing it with real money. The City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to launch a nearly $10 million pilot that will test direct potable reuse, the so-called "toilet-to-tap" approach, as a future water source. The plan funds a small purification plant and a public outreach blitz meant to convince regulators and residents that the process is safe.
Council Vote And Price Tag
The council signed off on issuing up to $9.9 million in revenue bonds to pay for construction and early operations of the pilot. Officials estimate the test system would be able to purify about 70,000 gallons of wastewater per day and say the bonds will be repaid through water and sewer user fees, according to The Wichita Eagle. The vote was 7-0 to advance an amendment to the city’s water reuse master plan, and staff says the package folds in expanded public engagement and additional technical work.
What The Pilot Will Actually Do
Wichita Public Works Director Gary Janzen told The Wichita Eagle the pilot "is going to be a proving ground" for state regulators, not a secret change to what comes out of the tap. During the trial, the treated water will not go into the city’s drinking system. Instead, the purified output will be routed back into the wastewater treatment plant so engineers and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment can monitor performance without altering residents’ tap water.
Contract, Timeline And Next Steps
The city first hired engineering firm CDM Smith in May 2025 to craft a water reuse master plan and has now approved an amendment that expands the company’s scope and budget, as reported by KWCH. City documents cited by the station show the original consulting contract was about $1.19 million. The amendment boosts the consulting total to roughly $1.93 million, and the estimated construction and operating costs for the pilot itself are about $7 million, putting the overall project near $9.2 million.
New State Rules On The Horizon
The pilot is lining up with changes at the state level. Legislation approved this spring directs the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to write rules that allow both direct and indirect potable reuse by July 1, 2028, according to the conference committee report from the Kansas Legislature. The bill also instructs regulators to avoid prescribing specific treatment technologies that would make reuse unaffordable, a clause supporters argued was necessary so cities like Wichita could even attempt pilots like this in the first place.
How Wichita Stacks Up Nationally
For all the attention, Wichita’s effort is relatively modest compared with some of the heavy hitters. El Paso broke ground in early 2025 on a full-scale Pure Water Center that is expected to send about 10 million gallons per day of highly treated wastewater into that city’s drinking supply, according to El Paso Water. The Texas project carries a price tag in the range of $290 million to $295 million and is being watched nationwide as one of the largest direct potable reuse projects in the United States.
City Leaders Call It A Legacy Project
Councilmember Becky Tuttle called the reuse plan a "legacy project" and argued that having a locally controlled, drought-resilient water supply could help draw industry and keep customer rates more manageable over time, according to KWCH. City staff says the immediate homework includes more public outreach, forming a stakeholder steering committee, and closely coordinating with KDHE on formal approval of the pilot.
Officials also plan to chase federal grants and bring in more technical review as they finalize test protocols and educational materials. If state regulators sign off on schedule and construction stays on track, the small pilot plant could be running by late 2027. Whether it ever grows into a full-scale source of drinking water will ultimately depend on how regulators, ratepayers, and local businesses respond to whatever comes out of Wichita’s high-tech experiment.
