basin to the Saline, leading to legal conflicts, as well as requiring over 50 miles of pipeline. An important political factor was part of the decision, since both the Corp of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation would need to participate. The city decided to follow a proven path, and in March, 1952, requested federal funds for the project. The application fell under the communal facilities bill providing for federal financial aid to communities whose utilities were strained by defense activities. The regional office of the Housing and Home Finance Agency in Kansas City, Missouri, denied the request. The city then took it to Washington for review and further action. Attired with bow ties and smiles, Water Company representatives "Lefty" Wails, Mickey Flynn, Otto Tomman, W.H. "Brud" Dominick, and Bob Hill ready to serve. Wichita's case for an expansion of the system was given significant proof on June 16, 1952. A series of three crippling breaks occurred on the 48-inch main connecting the city plant to the Equus Beds. The shortage created by the breaks nearly caused chaos in the city, virtually bringing defense production to a halt. Cancellation of operations at Beech, Boeing, Cessna, and Coleman, as a result of the shortages of water, caused 45,000 workers to be sent home, losing $500,000 in pay for the day. Similar problems occurred throughout the city. Although the city was able to repair the breaks before noon, another half day was required to refill the line. By Wednesday, June 18, 1952, the city restored full service. Monday and Tuesday were used to increase the pressure of the system, carefully operating to minimize potential future breaks and removing air accumulations from mains the farthest from the system. This situation accentuated the need to bolster and guarantee a water supply to the city. O.K. Brandon, foreman of the city water plant, attributed the breaks in the main to the compound used to join the sections of cast iron pipe in the 30-mile line. Ray Lawrence of Black and Veatch, the engineer in charge of the recent survey, flew to Wichita on the 16th to explain to the commission that the compound, an inflexible lead and sulphur material, broke the joints when soil shifting changed the position of the pipe. Lawrence told the city officials that the compound was no longer recommended by engineers but that in 1939 and 1940, when it was installed, it had saved the city over $50,000. Because of the breaks and the reliance on one large main as the center of the water system, the city began a bigger push for federal support. A meeting of civic groups and labor unions was called for June 24, to discuss and develop financing for the utility expansion. E.N. Smith reported that the system had simply become overloaded. Complete discussion was held but no specific action was taken. Federal officials met with the City Commission and department heads on July 1, 1952, to discuss the proposed projects. Wichita sought aid to offset the load of the defense effort which required significantly greater supplies of water. The regional office had denied the original request for four major reasons. It claimed the defense impact in Wichita had reached its peak and that the maximum available supply already exceeded the treatment capacity. If additional treatment capacity could not be justified, neither could the request for an additional supply. Finally, the proposed additional supply could not be justified by a further defense increment at the time. Wichita disagreed with the regional report and was granted a review by the Washington officials who inspected the situation first hand. The city received help setting up the meeting from Senator Andrew F. Schoeppel of Wichita and Congressman Ed Rees of Emporia. All the information the city had compiled was presented. The decision was not given for a week and a half. A supplementary report supporting the application was prepared by the city and submitted to the Housing and Home Finance Agency (HHFA). It contended that one-third of Wichita's water usage could be directly attributed to the impact of the defense effort. An estimated 60 million gallons were used on June 30,1952, with 22.8 million attributed to defense. Although the actual usage on that date was 52.3 million gallons, the city was operating under restrictions caused by the serious supply problems; otherwise, it was believed, the city would have pumped at least 60 million gallons. Statistics in the report proved the contention which had been made over.the years--that consumption was soaring from not only a total sum of customers, but on a per capita basis as well. From 1940 to 1950, there was a 44.8 percent increase in industrial users, from 139 to 234. The amount of water used by industries increased from 817.1 million gallons to 3.2 billion, a 400 percent jump. The average use per day went from 16,060 gallons to 37,476. Commercial users showed similar increase, with 8,068 customers averaging 796 gallons per day, as compared to 4,192 using an average of 154 gallons per day in 1940. To a smaller extent, the same increase was shown for residents. In 1940 there were 36,352 metered connections, while on May 31, 1951, there were 46,602 with many single connections serving many people, such as Planeview, Beechwood, and various large apartments. In 1940, the average daily usage per resident was 154 gallons, while in 1951 that average rose to 169. And 1952 showed even more growth, with June showing a 52 percent increase over the previous June's consumption. All of the work and information compiled by the city apparently worked, as the federal funds became more accessible. A telephone conversation on July 11, 1952, between Pere Seward, commissioner for community facilities for HHFA, and the Eagle, revealed that "things (were) stacking up" for Wichita, with a decision on the application due the following week. Seward allayed fears that money would not be available when he acknowledged that agency money could be used to help Wichita. The city's report and the personal investigation of Wichita had demonstrated to the federal officials the seriousness of the situation. On August 1, the federal government granted $1,790,000 in aid for the expansion of the water system in Wichita. Although much more was needed, it did provide a start. (Eagle, 7/11/52). With pressure building because of the past problems, on July 17, 1952, the Water Company announced further expansion plans to curb shortages the next summer and to meet the city's water distribution needs until 1960. Jerry Garland, of Davenport, Iowa, the president of the national company, reported plans to spend $2.5 million over the next year to add up to 26 million gallons per day pumping capacity to the system, depending on the availability and cost of steel. Larger mains were also planned to strengthen the main system. Garland said that during the past year more than two million dollars had been spent on expansion, over $3.5 million in the previous two years, for a total of $11 million over the last ten years. As had been the case with the city, Garland acknowledged the necessity of the work to meet the needs of the city which had grown "faster than reasonable expectations." From 1941 to 1951 the annual pumpage had more than doubled, from 4.0 billion to 9.3 billion gallons. And in 1952 the figure would be even higher. Finally, Garland said that one of the top hydraulic and mechanical engineers in the country, Donald F. Vaxter of the American Water Works Service Company, would superintend the work and advise the company on future actions. (Eagle, 7/17/52). Following the decision of the federal government, the city needed to arrange a vote on a bond issue to complete the financial requirements for the project. A total cost of $11,500,000 was projected, leaving $9,710,000 for city funding once the federal grant was taken into account. Work could begin as soon as the bonds were approved, but even on the most optimistic analysis, it would take two years to complete. An article in the Eagle on August 2, 1952, explored the history of the water situation in Wichita and emphasized the important role it played. "Wichitans have talked about water almost as much as they have talked about the weather ever since the city was founded," it stated. One fact which was emphasized was that, in spite of the continual struggle to develop new sources, few suggestions were original. The Eagle stated, "And when the current water crisis developed and a possible source of supply was again the topic of the hour, city officials had only to look in old files to discover every suggestion which was made had been made before." The steps necessary to obtain funding for the expansion projects began. Financial forms for the federal grant were received in Wichita by City Manager Jones on August 21, 1952. HHFA would provide $1,374,500, and the balance of the $1,790,000 would come from the Federal Security Agency of the U.S. Public Health Service.
basin to the Saline, leading to legal conflicts, as well as requiring over 50 miles of pipeline. An important political factor was part of the decision, since both the Corp of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation would need to participate.
The city decided to follow a proven path, and in March, 1952, requested federal funds for the project. The application fell under the communal facilities bill providing for federal financial aid to communities whose utilities were strained by defense activities. The regional office of the Housing and Home Finance Agency in Kansas City, Missouri, denied the request. The city then took it to Washington for review and further action.
Attired with bow ties and smiles, Water Company representatives "Lefty" Wails, Mickey Flynn, Otto Tomman, W.H. "Brud" Dominick, and Bob Hill ready to serve.
Wichita's case for an expansion of the system was given significant proof on June 16, 1952. A series of three crippling breaks occurred on the 48-inch main connecting the city plant to the Equus Beds. The shortage created by the breaks nearly caused chaos in the city, virtually bringing defense production to a halt. Cancellation of operations at Beech, Boeing, Cessna, and Coleman, as a result of the shortages of water, caused 45,000 workers to be sent home, losing $500,000 in pay for the day. Similar problems occurred throughout the city. Although the city was able to repair the breaks before noon, another half day was required to refill the line. By Wednesday, June 18, 1952, the city restored full service. Monday and Tuesday were used to increase the pressure of the system, carefully operating to minimize potential future breaks and removing air accumulations from mains the farthest from the system. This situation accentuated the need to bolster and guarantee a water supply to the city.
O.K. Brandon, foreman of the city water plant, attributed the breaks in the main to the compound used to join the sections of cast iron pipe in the 30-mile line. Ray Lawrence of Black and Veatch, the engineer in charge of the recent survey, flew to Wichita on the 16th to explain to the commission that the compound, an inflexible lead and sulphur material, broke the joints when soil shifting changed the position of the pipe. Lawrence told the city officials that the compound was no longer recommended by engineers but that in 1939 and 1940, when it was installed, it had saved the city over $50,000.
Because of the breaks and the reliance on one large main as the center of the water system, the city began a bigger push for federal support. A meeting of civic groups and labor unions was called for June 24, to discuss and develop financing for the utility expansion. E.N. Smith reported that the system had simply become overloaded. Complete discussion was held but no specific action was taken.
Federal officials met with the City Commission and department heads on July 1, 1952, to discuss the proposed projects. Wichita sought aid to offset the load of the defense effort which required significantly greater supplies of water. The regional office had denied the original request for four major reasons. It claimed the defense impact in Wichita had reached its peak and that the maximum available supply already exceeded the treatment capacity. If additional treatment capacity could not be justified, neither could the request for an additional supply. Finally, the proposed additional supply could not be justified by a further defense increment at the time. Wichita disagreed with the regional report and was granted a review by the Washington officials who inspected the situation first hand. The city received help setting up the meeting from Senator Andrew F. Schoeppel of Wichita and Congressman Ed Rees of Emporia. All the information the city had compiled was presented. The decision was not given for a week and a half.
A supplementary report supporting the application was prepared by the city and submitted to the Housing and Home Finance Agency (HHFA). It contended that one-third of Wichita's water usage could be directly attributed to the impact of the defense effort. An estimated 60 million gallons were used on June 30,1952, with 22.8 million attributed to defense. Although the actual usage on that date was 52.3 million gallons, the city was operating under restrictions caused by the serious supply problems; otherwise, it was believed, the city would have pumped at least 60 million gallons.
Statistics in the report proved the contention which had been made over.the years--that consumption was soaring from not only a total sum of customers, but on a per capita basis as well. From 1940 to 1950, there was a 44.8 percent increase in industrial users, from 139 to 234. The amount of water used by industries increased from 817.1 million gallons to 3.2 billion, a 400 percent jump. The average use per day went from 16,060 gallons to 37,476. Commercial users showed similar increase, with 8,068 customers averaging 796 gallons per day, as compared to 4,192 using an average of 154 gallons per day in 1940. To a smaller extent, the same increase was shown for residents. In 1940 there were 36,352 metered connections, while on May 31, 1951, there were 46,602 with many single connections serving many people, such as Planeview, Beechwood, and various large apartments. In 1940, the average daily usage per resident was 154 gallons, while in 1951 that average rose to 169. And 1952 showed even more growth, with June showing a 52 percent increase over the previous June's consumption.
All of the work and information compiled by the city apparently worked, as the federal funds became more accessible. A telephone conversation on July 11, 1952, between Pere Seward, commissioner for community facilities for HHFA, and the Eagle, revealed that "things (were) stacking up" for Wichita, with a decision on the application due the following week. Seward allayed fears that money would not be available when he acknowledged that agency money could be used to help Wichita. The city's report and the personal investigation of Wichita had demonstrated to the federal officials the seriousness of the situation. On August 1, the federal government granted $1,790,000 in aid for the expansion of the water system in Wichita. Although much more was needed, it did provide a start. (Eagle, 7/11/52).
With pressure building because of the past problems, on July 17, 1952, the Water Company announced further expansion plans to curb shortages the next summer and to meet the city's water distribution needs until 1960. Jerry Garland, of Davenport, Iowa, the president of the national company, reported plans to spend $2.5 million over the next year to add up to 26 million gallons per day pumping capacity to the system, depending on the availability and cost of steel. Larger mains were also planned to strengthen the main system. Garland said that during the past year more than two million dollars had been spent on expansion, over $3.5 million in the previous two years, for a total of $11 million over the last ten years. As had been the case with the city, Garland acknowledged the necessity of the work to meet the needs of the city which had grown "faster than reasonable expectations." From 1941 to 1951 the annual pumpage had more than doubled, from 4.0 billion to 9.3 billion gallons. And in 1952 the figure would be even higher. Finally, Garland said that one of the top hydraulic and mechanical engineers in the country, Donald F. Vaxter of the American Water Works Service Company, would superintend the work and advise the company on future actions. (Eagle, 7/17/52).
Following the decision of the federal government, the city needed to arrange a vote on a bond issue to complete the financial requirements for the project. A total cost of $11,500,000 was projected, leaving $9,710,000 for city funding once the federal grant was taken into account. Work could begin as soon as the bonds were approved, but even on the most optimistic analysis, it would take two years to complete.
An article in the Eagle on August 2, 1952, explored the history of the water situation in Wichita and emphasized the important role it played. "Wichitans have talked about water almost as much as they have talked about the weather ever since the city was founded," it stated. One fact which was emphasized was that, in spite of the continual struggle to develop new sources, few suggestions were original. The Eagle stated, "And when the current water crisis developed and a possible source of supply was again the topic of the hour, city officials had only to look in old files to discover every suggestion which was made had been made before."
The steps necessary to obtain funding for the expansion projects began. Financial forms for the federal grant were received in Wichita by City Manager Jones on August 21, 1952. HHFA would provide $1,374,500, and the balance of the $1,790,000 would come from the Federal Security Agency of the U.S. Public Health Service.
Water Utilities City Hall, 8th Floor455 N. MainWichita, KS 67202