There’s a lot of confusion and concern about what will happen once the city of Ventura no longer discharges millions of gallons of water into the Santa Clara River Estuary.

There are questions over what will happen to the birds, fish, turtles, ducks and other critters once their environment dramatically changes.

Residents wonder what will happen to the diverted wastewater and whether converting it to drinking water is — beyond the optics — healthy and safe.

To help residents get a better understanding of how Ventura’s wastewater operations work, and to help answer those questions, city officials opened up its facility to the public last week.

Officially the Ventura Water Reclamation Facility, the sprawling site of tanks, processors, pools and other equipment that sorts, cleans and returns wastewater to clear water is off Spinnaker Drive, a short walk to the ocean.