The editorial went on to emphasize the need for public support in the search for more water, "Whether it's recharging, desalinization, creating reservoirs, or diverting flood waters, all this is going to cost money. The legislature has been wise to put the money this year into research. Both the state and local governments within the state must continue to be ready to spend in order to assure a continuing supply of water." It concluded, "There is nothing more important to the existence of human life." (Eagle, 12/18/68).

As the requests for Wichita water began to mount, concern grew over how much water Wichita could afford to sell. This question came up again in 1971 when the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (MAPC) recommended that Wichita sell water to other cities under certain conditions. When the City Commission asked whether the city's supply was adequate to share, Hess said that the present sources of raw water would probably be sufficient until 1985, even if up to ten percent of the total demand was sold to surrounding communities. This time, Hess was specific about potential sources. He said the best possibility was the proposed Corbin dam, located on the Chikaskia River southwest of Wellington. Operations Chief Engineer John Wynkoop added that Wichita would probably not have a critical shortage in the foreseeable future, and that it was feasible to pipe water from southeast Kansas or north central Kansas to Wichita. "We are limited only by our own thinking as far as a source of supply is concerned," Wynkoop said. (Beacon, 5/17/71).

Later in the year, Wichita considered the sale of water to Andover and Augusta. In the memo to the City Commission on December 9,1971, City Manager Ralph Wulz outlined possible sources of supply for Wichita through 1985. A 1970 engineering report on the water system estimated that the maximum-day water demand would be 103.49 million gallons. (The estimate was not far off: on July 15, 1980, a record-setting heat wave resulted in the record demand of 104.97 million gallons.) Eight potential sources were under investigation at that time. These included: 1) the Little Arkansas River; 2) Corbin Reservoir, a portion of which Wichita had requested; 3) additional wells in the Equus Beds which had been shown to be recharged by rainfall; 4) Kanopolis Reservoir; 5) the South Fork of the Ninnescah River; 6) development by the Corps of Engineers of dams and reservoirs on the Grand (Neosho) River or the Verdigris River in southeast Kansas; 7) the underflow of the Arkansas River, a resource which the state of Kansas and the Office of Saline Water studied in hopes of achieving a scientific breakthrough which would make the plentiful supply potable; and, 8) recycling of wastewater, since 70 percent of the water used in Wichita returned to the sewer system, and the EPA required investigations into the potential of using final sewage effluent as a water source anyway.

As concern and study mounted in Wichita, national interest also grew over the water supply. John T. Tucker, a retired navy commander and civil engineer, developed a plan in 1968 for providing water supplies for the entire earth. His proposal, updated in 1972, argued for developing a complex system of canals and water diversion projects to bring water from Alaska to Mexico, supplying Kansas on the way. The Eagle and Beacon covered the story on November 19, 1972, of Tucker, who in the 1930's had realized that water consumption and provisions would become a critical need at the end of this century. A 1966 Senate report which was quoted in Tucker's book said, "It is a well-established fact that a serious water problem exists in the western United States. This water crisis is a problem of serious and far-reaching implications. It will grow steadily worse until it reaches alarming proportions in the years 1980 to 2000." The report went on to claim that piecemeal federal developments would not be enough to completely solve the problems. Instead, it would be "imperative that new sources of water supply for the arid and semi-arid West be explored at an early date." Tucker estimated his plan would cost $100 billion and would take 25 years to complete, but was necessary for the country. (Eagle, 11/19/72).

Gordon K. Zimmerman, executive secretary of the National Association of Conservation Districts, Washington, D.C., was in Wichita on June 3, 1973, as chairman of the 20th National Watershed Conference held in the city. Speaking of Tucker's concerns, Zimmerman argued that although the U.S. was in no immediate danger of running out of fresh water, localized shortages would become more and more frequent. Wide-scale shortages were not imminent, he said, and several options were available to increase resources, but, "The issue so far is price." Among the options mentioned were desalinization, the cost of which was slowly decreasing; a geothermal operation in northern Mexico which would create electrical power as well as provide a "very substantial source of fresh water"; and finally, a plan proposed previously to bring water from Canada and the Arctic. Zimmerman said, "Some things that are too expensive now may not be 15 or 20 years from now, or by the year 2000." The national attention served to emphasize the needs in Wichita for a new supply in the future. (Eagle, 6/4/73).

While all of the attention was being focused on a new supply, water usage continued to increase in Wichita. On July 9, 1973, it totaled 70.8 million gallons, topping the previous high established three years earlier. This was followed on July 22, 1974, by another record of 74.5 million gallons. Another record was set when 2.064 billion gallons were used in that month. Wynkoop explained on August 12, 1974, that, "Last month's drought, the worst recorded since 1888, emphasized the importance of the water system in Wichita. While many cities were forced to curtail water service, Wichitans had unrestricted usage and consumed water in record amounts." (Eagle, 8/12/74).

During that time of rising national water efforts, and increasing demands placed on the Wichita water system, plans for Corbin Reservoir emerged as the predominant alternative for a new water supply. The initial concept of constructing a dam on the Chikaskia River was first conceived in the early 1900's and was explored by the Bureau of Reclamation during the same period that Cheney Reservoir was studied. The Chikaskia River is the principal tributary of the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River, running 110 miles in length. Starting in southeast Pratt County, Kansas, it travels southeasterly into Oklahoma near Caldwell, Kansas, emptying into the Salt Fork of the Arkansas southeast of Tonkawa, Oklahoma. As early as 1947, the Bureau of Reclamation considered the area as part of an investigation of the entire Arkansas basin. The bureau also inventoried the land and water resource potentials