Years later a plan to erect a dam at Lincoln Street to impound river water for beautification revived the sludge issue. The dam would raise the water level above the Water Department's disposal lines and prevent dispersal of the sludge.

The commission authorized $778,000 for the dam in March, 1968, but after discussion in July, implementation was delayed until the lime problem could be reviewed. Hess saw at least seven potential solutions, but each was either economically impractical or only temporarily satisfactory. According to Hess, it boiled down to "finding the most desirable choice out of a number of undesirable choices. I just don't know what the answer is." (Beacon, 5/68).

While the alternatives were studied, the city took no action for nearly a year. On June 23, 1969, Hess spoke to the commissioners on the first day of the 1970 budget hearings. In conjunction with a new pumping station, Hess proposed a three million dollar lime recalcining plant to be financed through bonds the next year. The plant would burn the sludge and produce $100,000 annually in salable lime. The alternative to the plant, according to Hess, was to put the lime sludge into a 24-acre pit in northwest Wichita which would reach capacity in just eight years, and "would be a perpetual blight on the community." (Eagle, 6/24/69).

The sludge had become a problem by this time, causing sightseers and fishermen to complain. It would become worse, as the dam, when finished, would exacerbate the problem. Despite the need, the City Commission took no action on the sludge, although it approved the pumping station. The Water Department sought other options. In September, plans to purchase 17.5 acres of land north of Eighth Street, between I-235 and the Wichita-Valley Center Flood Control Channel, for use as a sludge pit, was rejected because of the $1,500-an-acre cost. The recalcining plant was deferred at the same time.

The Beacon reported on the subject on November 3, 1969, claiming that the dumping violated state and federal water quality acts. The city "could be cited at any time by the State Health Department," the paper read, "for dumping lime sludge into the Big Arkansas River." Melville Gray, acting chief engineer and director of environmental services for the Kansas State Health Department, wrote to Hess on October 29, warning that Wichita "technically...is in violation of water quality standards in discharging sludge to the river." The city's initiative in developing the proposed sludge treatment project had made a citation unnecessary, but the letter implicitly warned Wichita that action would have to be taken.

The City Commission considered the matter again on November 18. By a 4 to 1 vote, the commissioners authorized the city attorney to ask heirs of the original landowners of Sim Park if they would allow a lime sludge pit in the park. The park had been given to the city in 1917 with the stipulation that it not be used for anything other than park and recreational purposes; consequently, the heirs would need to waive their right to object. Additional study was requested, since the $40,000 cost of the lagoon was considered too high. The Water Department returned to recommend the original plan as the only feasible solution. The commission then brought up the possibility of using part of the park and asked for further study. The I-235 site would cost $402,000 for the pit and pipeline, according to the department, and last 44 years, while the park pit would cost $199,000, excluding the land, and would only last eight years.

The city's action prompted a heavy community response. Newspaper stories, editorials, and letters to the editor all attacked the plan, calling for Sim Park to remain as it was. The decision soon became moot when the nine Sim heirs denied the city's request to waive their reversionary rights. In reaction to the news, the commission voted on December 9, 1969, to delay action for 30 days, asking the Water Department for the third time to come up with an alternative to the I-235 lagoon plan.

The city released a report on the alternatives January 16, 1970, describing the costs and lifetimes of nine different sites. In addition, the Halliburton Company of Duncan, Oklahoma, made an informal proposal to study the feasibility of dispersing the lime in a deep well drilled into local formations. On January 29, the commission officially heard the Water Department report, Alternative Methods for Disposal of Lime Softening Sludge. It voted to negotiate with the Oklahoma firm for studying the deep well method, rather than approving any lagoon sites. On February 17, the company presented its proposal to drill a test well for $17,633, which could later be used for sludge dispersal if found to be feasible. An option was given in which a test hole not suitable for dispersal would be built for $12,067. The idea was to inject the lime sludge into slate formations underground which would hold the sludge for many years. Again, however, action was delayed, this time for two weeks. The deferral allowed an engineer to analyze another option to see if the sludge could be utilized for commercial lime production.

The commission decided to take both approaches at its March 3 meeting. The city manager was authorized to enter into a contract with the Halliburton Company to drill a test well. At the same time, $7,250 was allocated to R.S. Delamater, a local consulting engineer, to look into marketing the sludge as a road-building material. While all of the alternatives were explored, sludge continued to pour into the river at a rate of 42 tons per day. The new Lincoln Street bridge and dam designed by Delamater, which was to open in April, would intensify the need for a solution. According to a Beacon editorial on March 15, 1970, the State Board of Health had called for the city to quit dumping the sludge 13 years earlier, and the paper felt action should be taken. "But whatever we do, let's get on with it. We've been pouring ugly lime sludge into the river far too long now," it read.

Each proposal was pursued. The effort to find a market for dried sludge was soon abandoned. Later, Halliburton's proposal to drill a 650- foot test well for $18,637 was approved. The well was drilled in an area west of Cowtown. On June 15, lime sludge was pumped into the ground at the rate of 28 gallons per minute to study the dispersal concept. The following day the flow increased to 215 gallons per minute. The sludge was taken from a 160 by 50 foot basin at the filter plant, sent into the well and forced out between thin layers of shale rock fractured under pressure at a depth of 495 feet. A horizontal pancake was being sought to allow for a wide, flat dispersal area. An important part of the test was to see if the injections could occur without losing water, because, if the water was lost, the lime would solidify and seal the fissure. In all, the four-day experiment