PRETTY PRAIRIE, Kan. — The water issues surrounding the small Reno County community of Pretty Prairie have been well documented. Extreme levels of nitrates in the ground water have forced the city to hand out bottled water to its residents.

Efforts to remediate the pollution have been unsuccessful due to financial constraints.
Now, thanks to a CDBG grant from the state, the city has acquired enough funding to build a small reverse osmosis plant and water tower that will clean up the city’s water supply.

The grant, announced today by the state, will provide $600,000 to go along with $1.8 million that was acquired earlier by the small community from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The R.O. plant will be similar to the one built in Buhler several years ago to deal with the ever-persistent problem of arsenic.

The project will also include a new 50,000 gallon water tower.

City officials tell Hutch Post they hope to begin construction of the R.O. plant and water tower by this fall. The facility will be located next to the city’s existing water tower, which will be razed.