The federal government followed up on the first water pollution bill with the Safe Drinking Water Act, PL 93-523, signed into law on December 16, 1974, with President Gerald R. Ford saying, "There have been strong national programs to improve the quality of our air and purity of our foods. This bill will provide us with the protection we need for drinking water." (Eagle, 12/17/74). This was the first time a true national commitment had been made to safeguard public drinking water supplies. An important element was Section 1411, which granted the EPA authority to regulate all intrastate water systems instead of only supplies used by interstate carriers, as had been the case before. The act allowed the EPA to set up national standards for drinking water, with the states to provide enforcement, in much the same way PL 92-500 allowed sewage effluent standards. Controversy has abounded over the standards because of their universal and rigid application, ignoring local conditions. But the main effect on the city of Wichita has been a necessity to continually upgrade its testing and evaluation of the water to insure it meets the national standards. The laboratory, which as Robert Hess announced on November 6, 1968, had become the first to be certified under U.S. Public Health Service interstate regulations, became increasingly important. Due to the controversy and the fact that the water supply was in good condition, the actual effects in Wichita were not major. The Safe Drinking Water Act was part of a chain of events drastically altering the relationship between localities and the federal government. The most radical changes came from the Water Pollution Control Act.

Wichita's reactions to the law have been diverse. One factor affected was the structure of the sewer utility. In general, PL 92-500 was written for centralized sewer utilities rather than ones such as Wichita, with sanitary sewers separated from sewer treatment. The Public Works Department continued to be responsible for the engineering and maintenance of the sewer collection system, the Department of Administration managed the sewer utility fund, and the Water Department operated the sewage treatment services and bill collections.

Each department had major responsibilities other than the sewer utility and some felt there was a lack of overall direction, a complaint heard in 1963 when a proposal to combine the sewer utility in one department had been summarily opposed by staff members. Public Law 92-500 added emphasis to the charge. Section 201 of the act, for example, stipulates, "Administrators will not approve any grant after July 1, 1973, for treatment works under this section, unless the applicant shows to the satisfaction of the administrator that each sewer collection system discharging into such treatment works is not subject to excessive infiltration." (U.S. Statutes, 1972). Before the sewage treatment facilities of the Water Department could receive federal construction grants, the Public Works Department would need to perform an infiltration-inflow study of the sewer collection system as required by the EPA. The Public Works Department assigned the study a low priority since it would yield money only for services provided by the Water Department. Because the priorities of the two departments were not coordinated, greater delays occurred in receiving federal grants. Other specifications required testing of industrial influent into the sewer system which also required interdepartmental responsibilities.

As a result of provisions such as these, new thoughts toward reorganization emerged in the mid-1970's, and were strongly supported by the new city manager, Eugene H. Denton, who was appointed in 1976.

Denton wanted to reorganize the city to improve services based on placing like functions together. A reorganization study concluded that the sewer maintenance function should be transferred to the Water Department, a move Denton supported.

In a January 7, 1977, memo, Denton began by transferring the fiscal management of the utility from the director of administration to the director of water and water pollution control. The operation of sewer maintenance continued for a time in the Public Works Department, but the director of water reviewed all expenses in the sewer utility, and administered all federal grants.

As in the 1960's, the change generated opposition. Ray W. Bruggeman, the director of public works, in a memo to Denton on the matter on January 14, 1977, acknowledged the financial reorganization of the utility, but stated, "Any further improvements...can hopefully be made without the transfer of the sewer maintenance section of the Maintenance Division of the Department of Public Works from this department." He concluded by urging sufficient time be allowed to "evaluate the present revised sewer utility organization to permit it to be the most efficient sewer utility operation." (Water Files).

The proposed reorganization involved several departments, so it was not accomplished immediately. Late in the year the transfer of sewer maintenance was further discussed, but consideration was postponed until April 1978 due to other problems. At that time, other organizational studies were still being discussed. From the meeting, a top level task force was formed to develop and recommend a comprehensive reorganization plan in accordance with Denton's goals and recommendations for the consolidation of inspection services, utility operations, engineering services, and maintenance activities to stabilize costs and improve services.

On July 13, 1978, the Organization Study Task Force met to discuss the 1976 study, Management Report #104, A Reorganization Study of the Sewer Utility Function, which concluded, "The plan with the greatest immediate potential of significantly improving the overall leadership that a reorganization should provide, resides in the option that places the operation of the sewer utility under the Water Department." The task force recommended that storm and sanitary sewer maintenance functions be established as a division in the Department of Water and Water Pollution Control, and that the Engineering Division of the Public Works Department continue to perform sanitary sewer engineering on a contractual basis for the Water Department because of the close relationship between street, curb and gutter, surface drainage, and storm and sanitary sewer design.

When the maintenance of the sewer network was transferred to the Water Department on March 1, 1979, the entire water cycle, from the source of supply through treatment, delivery, collection, wastewater treatment, and disposal, was managed by one agency.

Although the reorganization was implemented as a result of an aggressive city manager's plan to improve efficiency, federal laws had provided a significant impetus for the consolidation of the sewer utility. As a result, work on applications for federal grants and meeting pollution abatement deadlines was enhanced. Public Law 92-500 had a major impact on the Water Department in many other ways as well, and influenced most of the improvements which were initiated in the sewer collection and treatment system.