After commenting on the federal-local cooperation, Dominy praised the efforts of many people involved, paying special tribute to the work of Howse. The speeches of Tarrant, Dominy, Shriver, and Avery emphasized the impact the Cheney dam would have on the region. Even then, however, a view toward future expansion was present. Dominy mentioned that the south fork of the Ninnescah, located seven miles south of Cheney Lake, would be under study when a need for another reservoir became apparent.

After the reservoir was completed, the city decided to refinance the $47.8 million in revenue bonds which had been issued in 1957 and 1962. On August 10, 1965, the commission voted 4 to 1 to redeem the old bonds and to issue $51.5 million in new revenue bonds to be used to buy government securities. The amount would be used to redeem the old bonds when they came due. An expected $6,827,962 in savings was anticipated with the change since a group of seven local and three New York investment houses bought the bonds for 3.5 percent interest, less than the 4.0 percent and 4.5 percent which the city had been paying. The total savings also included the interest earned from the government securities.

The initial transactions in the refinancing program took place on September 2, 1965. City Treasurer Ralph Klose deposited a check for $51,207,711.59 in the Union National Bank, the same sum which had already been invested in securities. The bank served as the city's trustee at no charge. The bond transaction was second in size in the state's history only to the $150 million transaction for the Kansas Turnpike Authority. The check was the largest ever written by the city and the largest the Union National Bank had ever received. On subsequent occasions the city went through similar actions to take advantage of favorable financial conditions. This procedure remains a viable technique in the management of the water utility.

The dam and reservoir were in full operation and, shortly after, the pumping station was completed with a 60-million-gallon-a-day capacity. On June 28, 1965, water began being pumped from Cheney, traversing the 21-mile trip to become part of the Wichita water supply. The path leading to Cheney had begun years earlier and it finally had reached its conclusion. On October 1, the regional director of the project, L.W. Hill, officially turned over operation of Cheney to the city.