not been truthfully represented in the 1931 effort. Soft water would save the city millions in deterioration and cleaning, while at the same time attract new industry. The proposal called for a 15 percent increase in water rates with no increase in the property tax burden, compared to a 45 percent increase if the Water Company had to do it. And the federal government would pay nearly half the cost. Also, options such as treating the current supply were rejected as inadequate, while the benefits of the quality and quantity of the beds were exalted. Finally, it was emphasized that the Water Company would get nothing from the project, while the city would own the facilities, contrary to the 1931 plan. Civic groups banded together, forming a committee claiming to represent "practically every civic and business organization in the city and which includes many individual public minded citizens." (Eagle, 9/13/38).
On September 27, the proposal passed overwhelmingly, 8,775 to 2,677. Finally, after 30 years of fighting, it appeared that the city would be able to get a soft water supply. The Beacon's analysis of the results proclaimed the significance of the vote, "Wichita civic leaders, merchants, and others who participated in the fight Wednesday were convinced that the project would be the greatest step forward taken by Wichita in more than 50 years." (Beacon, 9/28/38). But much remained to be accomplished.
The federal government's offer to pay 45 percent of the cost of the soft water project, a sum not to exceed $1,091,250, was officially accepted by the city on October 13, 1938. Accepting the offer, the city agreed to begin work no later than eight weeks after the offer was made on September 23, and to complete all work within 18 months. The dates were flexible but any changes had to be approved by the funding agency. Soon the official completion date was set back to June 29, 1940.
The contract for construction had to be signed by December 1, 1938, with the state Board of Health approving the plans. Final approval of the city's acceptance of the offer was received from the PWA on December 15, 1938.
Soon after the election, the City Commission hired Black and Veatch to handle the technical details needed for preparing the plans, specifications, and contract documents for the construction of the soft water system. When the decision was made on October 1, R.E. Lawrence, representing the firm, requested $90,000 for the work, approximately equal to 41/2 percent of the total cost of the project. The commission refused the request. Mayor Elmer Corn suggested it be reduced to four percent, which would make the fee $10,000 less, but the company refused, claiming the standard fee for projects over $1,000,000 was set at 51/2 percent or six percent. The commission would not budge and began to discuss other alternatives.
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Schuyler Crawford,
mayor
1934-1935.
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With work scheduled to start November 18, Commissioner Schuyler Crawford asked Wells if the date could be postponed to allow for the study and possible acceptance of bids for the engineering project. Corn informed the group he would fly to Fort Worth at his own expense to see if the deadline could be delayed. But before action was taken, Lawrence, in a surprise move, accepted the city's offer of $80,000. For once it seemed the city had been able to use psychology to gain a better deal.
The engineering firm agreed to make all of the necessary field studies, investigations, preliminary plans, and estimates for the system. It would assist the city in advertising for bids, and make recommendations on awarding contracts. In addition, resident engineers and inspectors would stay in Wichita during construction to insure compliance with the plans and specifications. With the hiring of the engineers, work could begin in earnest.
The preliminary plan for the project, prepared by Black and Veatch, called for a 48-inch pipe line to be built from Wichita to the Equus Beds near Halstead.
A series of wells would be drilled and equipped with pumps to draw the water into the line from the water-bearing gravel, and gravity would then start the water on a 30-mile trip to Wichita's distribution plant. Boosting equipment would aid when necessary. The intention at the beginning was simply to take the water from the beds, which was relatively pure and soft, and deliver it directly to the Water Company for distribution, using chlorination when necessary. Later, plans were changed to include a treatment plant as well.
The magnitude of the project and the distances required considerable work to build the system. Since the project was federally financed, each step had to be approved by the PWA, in addition to state approval when county borders were crossed. With the intergovernmental processes, unusual twists occurred as several separate contracts had to be awarded instead of a few large contracts. Wells explained the situation to the press, "Each section of the project must be taken separately. If we could go ahead with all of the work at once it would be ready considerably before the approved date. The contracts are handled separately and bids will be let at different times." (Eagle, 12/16/38). He also reported that test drilling had to be completed by December 27, 1938, permanent wells by June 1, 1940, and contracts for pump houses, pump equipment, power lines and control circuits, pipe line and gathering system, and the reservoir, all separate projects, were to be fulfilled by March 1, 1940.
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Tom Kisner and Glen Hage inspect electric pump unit.
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Wells felt that this regulation slowed down the process, but, as could be expected, federal officials favored the decision. W.D. Swanson, a Wichita resident engineer for the PWA, explained why the different contracts were required, "After considerable study and through the cooperation of the city of Wichita, Black and Veatch Consulting Engineers, and the PWA, it was decided to handle the execution of the work by breaking the various component parts of the project into individual contracts, thereby insuring a more expeditious handling and completion of the work." (Eagle, 4/28/40).
From whatever viewpoint, the city and federal governments were able to cooperate sufficiently to initiate this significant step in Wichita's history. The Eagle described the process, "The building of the soft water system was a partnership proposition from start to finish, with the PWA on one side and the city on the other. Relations between the city and the federal agency have been most harmonious and, after work was started on the project, it went forward at a rapid rate." (Eagle, 9/1/40).
By the middle of October, 1938, the effort was in full swing. Black and Veatch presented a partial estimate on October 17 of the funds immediately necessary to begin the project. The commission accepted the report and authorized $60,000 in temporary notes for the initial work. For the entire project some 13 major contracts were let, as well as minor ones.
The first contract was awarded on November 10, 1938, the same day the bids were received, to the Well Works Manufacturing Company of Garden City, Kansas, to drill 8,000 lineal feet of preliminary test wells at 54 cents per foot costing $4,280. The purpose of the work was to provide information to aid the engineers in determining the proper locations of the permanent wells. Work began on November 18, and was completed on December 30, 1938, for a final price of $3,995.
On January 23, 1939, Black and Veatch reported to the City Commission on the governmental survey of the water supply. Lawrence announced that the supply from the Equus Beds near Halstead would exceed 70 million gallons, more than enough to meet the needs of the city under his predictions of a 30 million gallon daily demand by 1960. The survey, made with federal and state cooperation, revealed an area of 200 square miles which was available to supply the well field, with a