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Wichita officials say clarifier repairs on Waterworks plant are progressing; city targets takeover in September
Summary
City public‑works staff and contractor Burns Mack reported that repairs to multiple clarifiers at the Wichita Waterworks treatment plant are complete or underway, with staff targeting a city takeover around September 2026 pending coatings, final performance testing and a KDHE operating permit.
Gary Jansen, Wichita’s director of public works and utilities, and Ron Coker of Burns Mack told council on April 28 that work to repair the city’s troubled Waterworks clarifiers is advancing and that staff expect to prepare for a city takeover this fall.
"Repairs on clarifiers 1, 3 and 4 are complete; we are down to coating work," Ron Coker said, describing the contractor’s schedule and weather‑sensitive coating steps. Coker said clarifier 6 repairs are underway and that materials for clarifier 2 were due on site the week of the meeting; clarifier 5, which the city has been operating in interim mode, will be last to be fully repaired.
Jansen said crews have used the interim operating time to run chemical‑optimization studies and train city operators. "Our goal all along has been once we have the plant in our possession…we're planning to need to operate for about six months before we can go live to the system," he said, adding that staff were "targeting right now…somewhere around September" for city takeover, subject to performance testing and a KDHE permit.
Project staff cautioned that final timing depends on weather (coating cure times of seven to ten days), completion of remaining mechanical repairs, the outcome of performance testing and permitting. Council members pressed for continued updates and asked staff to present a clear list of remaining steps before transfer of operations.
What happens next: staff will finish coatings as weather permits, complete the remaining mechanical work and finalize performance testing protocols; if those steps and KDHE review proceed as planned, the city expects to assume operational control in the September–fall 2026 window.
