The Derby City Council voted 7-0 on Oct. 14 to authorize the city manager to execute an agreement with Westech Engineering LLC for the pre-purchase of major water treatment equipment — including green sand filters and a reverse-osmosis system — in the amount of $2,591,000 plus applicable fees and taxes.

City staff told the council the city is designing a multimillion-dollar water treatment plant and roughly six miles of water lines to return more of the city’s appropriated groundwater rights to potable service. Staff said the major equipment items are custom-configured, include control panels and ancillary piping and valves, and have long lead times — in some cases up to 50 months — so pre-purchasing is intended to keep the overall project on schedule and reduce exposure to future price increases.

Project context and cost: Staff described the purchases as part of a $20–$25 million water treatment facility program. The equipment selected will remove manganese and iron (the Greensand Plus media in the green sand filters) and provide reverse-osmosis polishing; staff said the selected supplier also scored highest on an evaluation matrix and was cost-competitive. The council approved an authorizing resolution to allow the city to finance pre-purchase via bonds repaid from the water fund.

Water quality and blending: City staff said treated city water will be blended with water purchased from Wichita to achieve the same finished quality residents receive today, saying that the plant will be designed to produce potable water comparable to Wichita’s supply and to avoid historic hard-water issues residents recalled from earlier decades.

Why it matters: Ordering long-lead, custom equipment now reduces schedule risk for the larger plant and helps lock pricing ahead of further inflation or tariff changes. The purchase advances the city’s strategy to increase local treated supply while retaining Wichita wholesale purchases for blending.

Action: Council Member Bridal moved to authorize the agreement; the motion passed unanimously.

Ending: Staff said the equipment purchase will be financed through bonds tied to the water fund and that final design submittals were already in progress with KDHE review underway.