Hood sent a sharp reply to Stevens in a letter to Backstrom dated October 5. In it he told the city manager that since the approval of the sewage treatment bonds, "I have become very much concerned that the city has not complied with the orders of the State Board of Health, even though sewage treatment facilities were overwhelmingly approved by the electorate in the September election. It seemed the vote was a clear mandate to the governing body of the city to proceed with all possible speed to get this matter settled." (Beacon, 10/7/57).

He went on to write that the city had joint responsibility with the county over the sanitation in the north end industrial area, and then, according to the Beacon on October 7, "sharply rapped the city because of its de-annexation of the industrial area after the Board of Health had issued its order against the city." The city could not avoid its responsibility for the pollution of the area simply by de-annexation, Hood maintained, especially since the state orders were issued when it was still under the city's jurisdiction. Hood also argued that he did not mean that the board was forcing re-annexation. Stevens's points on that issue were refuted, with Hood claiming that the assumption of the state's intent was "neither found in fact, nor confirmed by the official public records of the State Board of Health or of the city of Wichita." He emphasized, "I want to make it crystal clear that the question of annexation is a local matter and not within the province of the State Board of Health to determine." Finally, he added that the pollution abatement policies of the board had remained "firm and consistent" since they were adopted on December 11, 1955, and had been unanimously reconfirmed as recently as September 6, 1957.

Backstrom distributed the letter to the commission at the October 8 meeting, and intended on placing the necessary ordinance on first reading a week later. But on October 15 a quorum could not be reached. Both Baird and Stevens were out of town, and Madden, who was to have chaired the meeting, never showed, leaving James L. Gardner and Howse without the ability to make any decisions.

Even without any action by the city, some progress was made. The County Commission had met on the sewage matter in the meantime and on October 14 Chairman Howard B. Scott announced that a sanitary code would be adopted by the county by January 1, 1958, to regulate water courses in the Wichita area. With this action the county had accepted the responsibility for the pollution problem outside Wichita's city limits. When the State Board of Health met on October 18, the county's action was considered satisfactory, although the eventual code would have to be accepted by the board. Since responsibility had been assumed, the issue of the pollution outside the city was determined to be satisfied as it related to Wichita's sewer ban. The board then proceeded to authorize the staff to lift the ban once two conditions were met: passage of an ordinance controlling sewage disposal in Wichita, and the approval of a resolution calling for the abandonment of the industrial sewer which was still dumping untreated wastes directly into the Big Arkansas River.

Both these measures were brought up at the October 22 City Commission meeting, with all but Baird present. Madden and Stevens were not yet ready to accept the state's orders and the motion to place the ordinance on first reading failed 2 to 2, along with other votes on sewer and water matters. A special meeting of the commission was called on the 24th when Baird returned. However, the commission did not return to the sewage controversy until October 29, when the full membership was present.

This time the ordinance passed. By a 4 to 1 vote, the commission declared a state of emergency and approved the ordinance in one meeting, finally satisfying the state requirements. The ordinance set up rules and regulations controlling the discharge of sewage, industrial wastes, and wastewater into water courses and storm sewers, including penalties for violators. A resolution also passed by the same margin directing the abandonment of the industrial sewer by June 1, 1958. The principal user of the sewer was the Derby Refinery which was building its own sewage treatment system. After some delays the use of the industrial sewer was actually abandoned in 1959.

Again, Stevens voted no to the actions saying, "I'm not going to sacrifice moral right for the sake of expediency--I just don't think they (the State Board of Health) have the power to force this one on the citizens of Wichita," as quoted in the Beacon on October 29. Madden went along with the rest, stating, "I agree with Mr. Gardner that the ordinance is important and I want it understood that I am not an obstructionist."

With the actions by the commission, the ban on sewer extensions was finally lifted and it could proceed to expand the system to meet the growing needs. But unanimity in the commission certainly was not the result. The city received the board's permit on November 26, which authorized the city to discharge treated sewage into the Arkansas River under certain qualifications conforming to the 12-point agreement. Madden and Stevens still objected to the state's interference, but the permit was adopted 3 to 2. Plans for the new project were approved by the commission on November 12, and construction of the first phase of the new sewage facilities began in January, 1958. The contract had been awarded on December 1, and the commission approved it on the 17th, with Dondlinger and Sons, Inc., to construct the treatment plant at a bid of $2,829,273. The same day $6,600,000 in temporary notes were authorized to pay for the plant, although only $238,000 were issued at the time. On May 13, 1958, $6,976,344 in general obligation bonds were sold to Harris Trust and Savings Bank of New York, for a very low interest rate of 2.64076 percent. The first phase began immediately, costing $3,955,000, and the second a year later with the contract awarded at the first of January 1959. Total agreement was rarely achieved as bonds were issued and contracts awarded.

By the end of 1960 the plant was completed. On November 16, 1960, city officials made a formal inspection of the finished facility, with its twelve two-hundred-foot-diameter trickling filters in three units of four each, a final settling basin for each unit, three elevated sludge digester tanks, and a new primary treatment settling tank and sewage pumping station to be used for the southwest sewer main to be constructed.

To help with the costs of the new system, Wichita received a federal grant of $137,141.24. As might be expected, it involved many political maneuverings. The city had been notified in September 1956 that the Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1956 (Public Law 660) provided for 30 percent federal government grants, with a limit of $250,000, for sewage treatment facilities. Hess requested the federal grant applications from Metzler of the Board of Health on September 24, who forwarded the information on November 8. In his letter to Backstrom which accompanied the materials, he said, "Unless your city is prepared and plans to place a sewage treatment plant under contract before May 1, 1957, it will be to your advantage to return the application form at this time." (Water Department Files).

The cut-off date for the applications for fiscal year 1957 was December 1, 1956, but Wichita was unable to meet the deadline. Instead, it prepared for the following fiscal year's date of July 1, 1957. But the April 2 defeat of the secondary treatment plant bond issue again delayed the request.

The successful vote for the bonds in September, 1957, renewed Wichita's efforts for a grant. June 1, 1958, was the new deadline for fiscal year 1959 grants, but Phase 1 improvements did not meet federal regulations, and Phase 2 improvements were too late, thus, Wichita again missed out on the aid.

Finally, in 1959, the contracts for the second phase were approved and the application for a $250,000 federal grant was submitted to the board in April, just in time to meet the May 1 deadline for fiscal year 1960. Metzler, however, informed Backstrom by letter on September 28, 1959, that the full $250,000 was not available. Only $750,000 in grant money was allocated to Kansas each year and many projects had to proceed without funds or with reduced amounts.