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Connie Peters,
mayor
1975-1976,
1978-1979.
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Supervisor Randy Vulgamore and Equipment Operator Ray Barnickle use a special tapping machine to cut a 14 1/2-inch hole in a pressurized main at Morris and George Washington Boulevard.
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With the results, the bureau officials turned to the alternative. The project planning officer, Andy Peck, argued that conservation would not be a viable solution, since only five percent could be saved, which would occur only in a crisis situation, and said that he believed the presumption of proliferous waste of water was not true. Therefore, the bureau returned its emphasis to Corbin Reservoir, claiming on August 19 that it was the best alternative supply for future additional water for Wichita. The estimated cost was set at $152 million for 25,000 acres of right-of-way for the dam and reservoir and another 10,400 acres for fish and game recreational protection, to yield an annual supply of 56,400 acre-feet at an annual operating cost of one million dollars. Don Anderson, director of administration, estimated the annual debt repayment at up to $11.3 million.
The renewed endorsement of the Corbin project by the Bureau of Reclamation rekindled the controversy, as pro and con opinions flourished in the news media. The Bureau's Equus Beds study was attacked by the Chikaskia landowners. Schmidt of the landowners association charged, during the public hearing, that the bureau had not "thoroughly investigated" the feasibility of buying irrigation rights from Equus Beds farmers to obtain the needed supply for Wichita. (Eagle, 8/19/77). Letters appeared in the local papers attacking the project, saying it would "literally rape the Corbin region for a higher quality life for Wichita (perhaps they meant quantity)." (Eagle, 9/17/77).
On the other hand, the Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce, on September 27, 1977, endorsed construction of the Corbin Reservoir as the "best available" source to meet Wichita's future water needs, urging the City Commission to take "prompt, decisive action if it expects federal participation in the water supply project...Corbin Reservoir is the most economical and feasible source for expanding the municipal and industrial water reserve for Wichita." (Eagle, 9/28/77).
The Eagle also supported the project, and in an editorial on August 30 proclaiming the need for the reservoir, argued that "Not only industry and an urban population's personal water needs are at stake, but also quality of life." The paper reminisced about the "miraculous" speed with which Cheney Reservoir was planned and built, largely as a result of Colonel A. E. Howse, with the help of others, including the late Representative Ed Rees. "Now, someone is needed to get behind the Corbin dam proposal," the paper concluded. "It already has taken three years of planning, including careful study of all options, to get us this far. We can't stop now. We're going to need the water soon." (Eagle, 8/30/77).
The city did stay active in the process, although it did not directly reaffirm its support for the project. In response to an inquiry from Wynkoop about application procedures, Peck, on October 5, described only two necessary City Commission activities: 1) a letter of intent showing the city's willingness and ability to contract for the project, which had to accompany the feasibility report; and 2) negotiation of the contract for repayment, operation, and maintenance of the
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