Bartlesville Radio: The area’s best source for news, weather and sports!

Another water source that the City of Bartlesville has been pursuing is water reuse.

Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen explains that this process takes treated waste water from the plant in Bartlesville and pumps it upstream on the Caney River. That water is then discharged at a certain distance above the City's raw water intake at Johnstone Park.

Bartlesville was originally supplied water by that intake structure. If you go to the Kiddie Park / Johnstone Park along the Caney River at Bartlesville, you can see the blonde-brick building that sits in the river. The same source is still used today.

Lauritsen said water reuse would be another contingency for the City for a long-term water source. He said they should have the design portion of the project done this calendar year or at the start of next calendar year with construction to follow in mid-2020.

Ideally, the City could flip the switch and utilize the potential water reuse system in a year and a half to two years if and when disaster or drought strikes the area. Lauritsen said it could be used in a circumstance where more water is needed than Hulah and Copan could potentially supply.