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City updates council on drought, Cheney reservoir and new water treatment plant; staff plans reuse study and water capture
Summary
City staff told the council the Cheney Reservoir inflow is at historic lows and that stage 2 watering restrictions will likely remain for 2025. Wichita Water Works test operations for a new treatment plant are nearing completion; staff outlined plans to capture test water, speed plant acceptance and pursue direct potable reuse planning.
City staff told the Wichita City Council March 25 that Cheney Reservoir remained well below normal pool and that the city’s drought restrictions would likely remain in force through 2025 while the new water treatment plant completes testing and regulatory steps.
Gary Janssen, Public Works and Utilities director, said Cheney’s pool was about 7.5 feet below normal as of the prior week and that the 12‑month inflow into the reservoir “is the lowest it's been in almost 60 years,” a condition that has kept the city in stage 2 watering restrictions since Aug. 5 of last year. “Our goal right now is to hold off stage 3 as long as we can,” Janssen said, noting that stage 3 would eliminate outdoor watering and have broader business impacts.
Staff updated the council on the new Wichita Water Works treatment facility. City documents and staff said the contractor’s performance and acceptance testing is underway and the city expects to take ownership in April; Kansas Department of Health and Environment operational approval will follow. Staff said their current target is to have the new plant supplying water to the distribution system by this fall, but that timeline depends on finishing testing, obtaining the KDHE permit and staffing the new facility.
During testing, plant effluent has been discharged to the floodway. Staff said they are preparing a plan to shift test discharges to the new pipeline and to capture test water at a planned fill station near the Hess Pump Station. The captured water would be offered to contractors and institutional users (staff mentioned Botanica) for landscape and nonpotable uses; staff said they plan to have that fill station operational in the next 30–45 days if pipeline repairs and disinfection are completed.
Janssen said the city is also pursuing longer‑term projects to increase drought resilience: additional aquifer recharge basins tied to the Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) program, continued coordination with neighboring Derby and Valley Center on unused water rights, and a reuse feasibility study. Staff told the council they had selected a consultant for the reuse study and expect to bring that consultant before council in May; staff said their focus would be on direct potable reuse as a durable supply option.
Council members queried well‑owner behavior, tree planting and possible exemptions. Staff noted the drought response plan exempts domestic wells (which must be signed and registered) and said domestic wells are hydraulically connected to the Equus Beds but that modeling shows domestic wells have limited impact on the regional well field at current levels of use. Staff also acknowledged concerns about tree planting and said they are exploring ways to allow contractors to access available test water for tree establishment and landscape contractors through controlled fill stations.
What comes next: staff will continue performance testing of the new plant, pursue KDHE operational approval, implement the test‑water capture and fill‑station plan, and begin the reuse feasibility study with a consultant expected in May.
