There are many things that add to the quality of life of a community, and none is more important than a reliable water supply. Today, I would like to recognize the achievements of the City of Wichita Water Utilities Department, CAS. Construction, and the design engineering firm of Camp, Dresser & McKee, represented this morning by the individuals standing beside me. Through their work with Phase I of the Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project, also known as the ASR project, they are making Wichita an even stronger community by ensuring all of our water needs are met through the year 2050.
Their collaboration and innovative approach to developing a new drinking-water supply for our community earned all three organizations an Honor Award from the Design Build Institute of America, Mid-America Chapter, which was presented during the institute’s Annual Membership Meeting on Oct. 9 in Kansas City, Kan.
Phase I of the ASR project began in March 2006 and was completed ahead of schedule in August of that year at a cost of $12 million, which was $3.5 million under budget. The success and effectiveness of the initiative is a testament to the planning process that began 13 years earlier. That was the time when it became evident that our City would face a water shortage in the not-too-distant future if we didn’t increase our supply to match ever-increasing demand.
The Honor Award recognizes the City’s approach to getting Phase I completed in a timely and efficient manner by overlapping the design and construction phases of the project. This design-build approach is not a common practice for the City, but, in this case, we on the City Council knew that we had no time to waste if we were to reach our objective of securing a future water supply. It was one of the best decisions we’ve made for this community.
Through the ASR project, excess water is taken out of the Arkansas River after periods of heavy rainfall and treated to meet drinking water standards. It is then pumped underground into the Equus Beds aquifer so that it can later be sent to Wichita and its Water Utilities customers.
By having design and construction activities going on simultaneously under the direction of CAS Construction, Phase I was finished in five months as opposed to the year-and-a-half it would have taken if the processes were done separately. As a result, by the end of 2007, 350 million gallons of water were added to the Equus Beds aquifer.
We are currently in Phase II of the four-phase project that is expected to be completed by 2011. Ultimately, the project will be capable of producing up to 100 million gallons of water a day from the Little Arkansas River and will add up to 65 billion gallons of water to the aquifer.
As Mayor of the City of Wichita, I am honored to be able to present this Honor Award today and I thank each of you and the organizations you represent for making sure Wichitans will have water today, tomorrow and in the foreseeable future.