Because of the publicity surrounding the rate increase, attention was focused on the Water Company and its programs. Aware of the negative image, it tried to emphasize the expansion efforts. On July 7, 1950, Millar announced that more than 24 miles of new water mains had been installed during the first six months of the year, along with 12 miles of copper tubing for customer services. Throughout the remainder of the year the company continued to pursue extensive programs to meet the demands of the city and the commission.

On September 12, 1950, the commission approved the company's plan for building the two-million-gallon water tank near the university to insure sufficient pressure on the city's east side. The company's plan to develop a belt of pipe around the city to improve service was also outlined, and plans announced to lay over 13 miles of 16 and 24 inch main. By March 6, 1951, Millar reported on the company's progress in its $2,000,000 expansion program in a letter to the commission. He claimed that since November 1, 1950, four miles of 16-inch main had been installed, as well as half of the planned 30,000 feet of 20-inch pipe, and another 10,000 feet of 16-inch pipe had been purchased. The letter gave more details on the elevated tank and presented the general concepts of unifying the more than 450 miles of water mains in the city into a single pressure system.

Construction of the new water tower finally began on March 13 when the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company initiated work, contracting the job from the Wichita Water Company. The planned tower was one of the biggest in the world at the time. Bob Mitchell, foreman of the construction company, said he could think of only one larger, a 2.5-million-gallon tank in Cincinnati, built by the same company. The Water Company set a completion deadline of June 1 because of its importance in meeting the increased demand resulting from renewed defense efforts in the city, including the B-47 air base. Pipeline valves were first opened to the 644-ton, 130-foot structure on May 11, 1951, finishing the project in a time that, Millar claimed, far outstripped any existing record. It took little more than a month for the project to be completed, including painting inside and out.

While the city was concerned with expanding its capacities, external factors came into play which would have far reaching effects. The Department of Interior's Bureau of Reclamation had been created by the federal government to help spur local development, especially in the area of irrigation. During the same time, the Army Corps of Engineers was working to implement flood control projects in various localities. Both agencies competed for a limited supply of funding with each desiring the maximum appropriation, for prestige and expansion. Because of a farm surplus in the 1940's, the need for irrigation programs diminished, reducing the bureau's justification in asking for additional funding or even in defending its existence. Therefore, it was looking for other areas in which to expand. On the other hand, the corps had no problem finding projects and saw municipal water supplies as an incidental part of flood control, and thus did not actively pursue water supply development. This left a federal void which the bureau was determined to fill. In order to replace its faltering role of irrigation and to expand its activities while competing with the corps, the bureau sought to become the federal leader in local water supply. This would be very beneficial to Wichita. The bureau initiated various studies on potential water supplies throughout the nation, which eventually included Kansas and the Wichita area. Therefore, when the city began to see a need for additional supplies, an eager agency was ready to help. The Kansas government also had an interest in the water supplies, especially since shortages were fairly common in the state.

State and federal governments had been interested in the Wichita water supply question for a number of years. The Geological Survey of Kansas issued a report in July, 1949, on the water resources of south central Kansas which made special reference to the Wichita supply source. By that time the Bureau of Reclamation had also become involved. The agency, "always alert to areas into which it might expand," initiated a basin-wide study of the Arkansas River in 1947 to determine the water needs in the area, including an analysis of potential reservoir sites. (Corbin, 1972).

In September of 1949, the bureau officials had contacted the city regarding an additional source of water, concluding that the needs of Wichita would have to be considered in their plans. They met again with city officials on October 26, 1950, to discuss preliminary studies of potential sources, and on November 17 wrote the city to summarize their activities, requesting the city's participation in planning for future water needs and supply sources. A letter from M.G. Barclay, area planning engineer for the bureau to E.N. Smith, outlined the federal agency's proposal providing for a two-stage development of the Ninnescah River. The first stage would be a dam built on the north fork of the river near Cheney, with a future dam to be constructed on the south fork near Murdock. These plans, which would become very important over the next decade, were the first to suggest Wichita build Cheney Reservoir, a future source of supply.

A report on the water system had been prepared by city officials and on February 5, 1951, it was sent to the City Commission, recommending the employment of competent engineers to continue a study of the municipal water supply system. The commission followed up on the recommendation on April 3 by hiring the Black and Veatch firm to prepare a report on water supply sources. The city then took the initiative to the federal government on April 26 by requesting a meeting with Bureau of Reclamation officials to discuss the water problem. The meeting was held on May 7, 1951. In response to the conference, a formal resolution was passed on May 8 by the city commission requesting the bureau to include in its 1952 work program whatever investigations would be necessary to determine the feasibility of developing a water supply on the Ninnescah River. An affirmative reaction from localities involved in research areas was often needed to lend credibility to the agency conducting the project. The bureau followed up the request on December 29, 1951, by contracting with the Kansas University School of Business Research to prepare a report analyzing the Wichita-Hutchinson area, which was submitted in 1952. The intellectual part of the project had begun; the political remained ahead.

Even with the efforts by both the city and the company to augment the water supply, worry continued over rising consumption rates. Despite cool and rainy weather, on May 31 the city used 32,700,000 gallons of water in 24 hours, one of the highest recorded figures. Officials, including Bob Hess, were concerned about what this might portend for the upcoming hot summer months. By August their worries appeared justified. Robert Millar reported on August 6, "We are pumping at the almost unbelievable rate of 64,760,000 gallons per day. The nearest we ever came to that rate was 58,400,000 on June 15 last year," the same date as the previous 24-hour total record of 37,100,000 gallons. Millar continued, "Water use has grown tremendously here. At the beginning of World War II the average was 10,000,000 gallons a day. Now it is 23,000,000." Despite the drastic increases, the company expected to meet the customers' needs. (Eagle, 8/7/51).

With the high demand and the water shortages, the city increased its investigations into alternatives. The "life-line of the system," as the Eagle called it on June 17, 1952, was "bottle-necked in the single 48-inch main." This became the focus of the improvement effort. Black and Veatch had been hired by the commission in April, 1951, to survey the water supply and to recommend alternative ways to enhance it. The firm collected data on Lake Kanopolis, Walnut River, Fall River dam, and the proposed dam on the north fork of the Ninnescah River. The report was officially submitted on April 18, 1952, and called for initial expansions of the present supply through spending $12,500,000 to install a 66-inch main to the Equus Beds well field and extension of the pumping station. It also called for plans to seek a supplemental supply from Kanopolis. While the first part of the recommendation was pursued, the suggestion on Kanopolis was generally dropped because of various problems, including the fact that water would have to be transferred from the Smoky Hill