Wichita officials are considering options for the city’s current water treatment plant, when the new plant goes online next year.
Options for the current plant were presented to City Council members in a workshop meeting Tuesday. Laura Quick with the city’s Public Works Department said most of the options deal with having the plant on standby for emergency use, but there are some maintenance issues that need to be addressed. Some other factors to consider are the treatment capacity, the time it would take to start up the plant, and whether it would be using water from Cheney Lake or the Equus Beds aquifer.
One option would be to demolish the plant, which could cost $50 to 75 million. Options for emergency use would range from $8 million to $33 million.
Staff will present recommendations to the City Council at a later time.
The Council also heard about recommended water rate increases during Tuesday’s workshop. Public Works Director Gary Janzen announced a proposed six-point-one-four increase in water and sewer rates for 2025. City officials say the proposed rate increase is due to inflation, staffing pressures and the need to operate a new water treatment plant. The increases will be presented to the Council at a later meeting for formal action.
