Brownwood Water Reuse Plant

"We have gotten approval now to construct this facility. We've gotten a loan from the Texas water development board for approximately $8 million to construct the facility," says Bobby Rountree, Brownwood City Manager.

Everyone has the same initial thought.

"People will turn up their nose immediately but if you've been to the metroplex, if you've been to Houston, you're drinking recycled waste water," he explains.

Waste water flows downstream, and when it comes out of the waste water filtration plant, it's unlikely you'll recognize it.

"One bottle, it came from the drinking fountain here at city hall, the other bottle is the final product from our waste water treatment plant. And I'm not going to tell you which one it is," says Rountree.

The clear water you see would then go to the water reuse plant where extensive filtering would take place.

"It comes in here, it goes through 1-2-3-4-5 ultra filtration skids. These are huge filters that do the initial filtration. Then it goes up through ultra violet lights," explains Rountree.

The water would hit 5 different stages of filtration before it would ever reach your faucet.

"It will produce a million and a half gallons of water per day," says Rountree.

That's a million and a half gallons of rain water that stays in Lake Brownwood.

The water reuse plant would not only diminish the constant need for rain but also it would allow Lake Brownwood to be used for recreational purposes.

And if you're not on board yet, climb on.

"The City of Brownwood is not the first to do this. There will be other cities that will be doing it. In fact, I dare say, in 5-10 years it's gonna be a pretty standard process," he says.

With Texas growing at a rate of 1,200 people per day, the water will have to come from somewhere.