An estimated budget of $25,000 was predicted for the first year, $20,000 for the first phase of an engineering study and $5,000 for the legal expenses of incorporation. Gerard proposed that those members who had already applied for allocations from Milford be made trustees of the district, since they would be responsible for the re-division of available water, and that other cities involved in establishing the district should also be represented on the board of trustees and receive a guarantee on cost and quantity of water.

The bond rating for the district would be based on the ratings of the individual cities, therefore making it necessary to develop a board representing the larger cities, to gain favorable interest rates. The board would also be set up to insure responsiveness to the needs of all its members. Based on these assumptions, Gerard offered a structure for a nine-member board. Wichita, Salina, McPherson, Abilene, and the Equus Beds Groundwater Management District would each have one member, and four representatives would be allocated to the other charter members.

In order to finance the preliminary budget, each member would pay set fees. Gerard developed a possible structure for such payments, with the five trustees paying $1,500 plus ten cents per acre-foot of water appropriation, and other members paying $1,000 plus ten cents per each member of the population, with a maximum amount of $2,500. According to this plan, Wichita would pay $7,500, the five trustees a total of $18,050, and the total budget, assuming all the cities would participate, would be $31,950.

A meeting for November 6, 1981, was set to consider the plan. While Gerard emphasized he was only offering suggestions for the purposes of discussion, he also wrote that "when we meet again, each of us should have formal city approval to elect a steering committee and a commitment from our individual governing board to pledge the acceptance of reasonable dues for the funding of the anticipated costs of the steering committee." (Water Department Files).

Wichita was happy to participate in the plan. When federal officials announced a new look at Corbin in October of 1981, Wynkoop was skeptical because of the price. Instead he was confident Milford or Kanopolis could meet the city's needs. He told the Eagle-Beacon on October 10 that new water sources wouldn't be needed until 2000, and by then water could be available from the other reservoirs. A supply from either source would satisfy Wichita's water needs through 2030, he predicted.

Wynkoop sent a memo dated October 26, 1981, to the City Commission requesting the city become a member by submitting its dues to the steering committee. He told the commissioners about the meetings which had centered around the concept of constructing a large aqueduct from one of the existing state reservoirs to Wichita. The pipeline would be engineered so that every participating city along the route would receive their share of the water." Also the need for the $7,500 for Wichita's portion of the cost was explained. He also gave the commission the assurance that the city would not be committed to any further action. "The formation of this group does not commit the city to any proposed pipeline," Wynkoop explained. "In the event that a feasible plan is developed, the group will need to obtain, from the Wichita City Commission, approval of a separate contract before the city could participate in such a project." (Water Department Files).

On November 3, the City Commission authorized Wichita to become a member in the proposed district and appropriated the $7,500. The meeting was held on November 6, in Hesston, Kansas, and the committee was formed, generally as Gerard suggested, with Gerard elected to remain as chairman of the group.

The formal establishment of the steering committee provided legitimacy for the efforts of the cities involved, and a basis for financing further study. For a significant period of time following the meeting, studies had to be conducted. Questions about the financing of the project, the engineering of the actual construction, the legalities involved in such a large district, and transferring water over 100 miles from the Kansas River basin to the Arkansas, all had to be answered before the project could implemented. The solution would not be easy, but the innovative approach seemed to offer a view of the future because eventually such cooperation between various governmental jurisdictions would be a necessity to meet the state's growing water needs.

A story in the Eagle-Beacon on January 24, 1982, discussed the legal implications projects such as Milford would have for Kansas. Gibson, the chief engineer of the Kansas Division of Water Resources, reported that Kansas law did not specify what factors should be considered before approving large scale transfers. The effects on the area where the water originated, including the future water needs, would be important. Other alternatives available to the area requesting water would have to be evaluated. Part of the legal questions involved the transfer of water from one basin to another. According to Lee Wright, chief of planning and policy development for the Kansas Water Office, an important first question was how to define river basins. "We could say the entire state is in the Mississippi drainage basin and there would be no problem," he said. "The next division would be the Kansas and the Arkansas, which just about split the state in half. But I question whether we really want to set up divisions like that." Much research remained to be done before answers could be given. (Eagle, 1/24/82).

A paper on The Development of a Regional Water Supply was presented at the 32nd Annual Sanitary Engineering Conference on February 3, 1982, by Robert W. Lamberton of the Kansas City, Missouri, consulting engineering firm of Larkin and Associates. The paper was of interest in that it directly discussed the water problems of Kansas and the formation of wholesale water supply districts, particularly the central Kansas proposal involving Wichita. In discussing the project, Lamberton said, "A few years ago, a project of this magnitude in Kansas would have been considered impossible. It is now considered a realistic need by communities that are thoughtfully assessing long-range water demand projections in their area and that recognize the limitations of their present sources." (The Development of a Regional Water Supply).

Finally, the effects of costs were emphasized in such a plan. "It must be realized that a new regional supply will generally result in higher unit costs for the water than is currently being charged by the individual entities. Current rates are usually based on the use of facilities constructed many years ago, at much lower capital costs. However, the regional approach should result in lower unit costs than could be the case should each entity upgrade its own supply to adequately meet long-range needs. The regional water system concept will have growing acceptance as the public realizes the importance of water and that it is no longer 'free'." (The Development of a Regional Water Supply).

The study was only one source of information for the newly formed district, but it emphasized not only how such projects can be implemented, but also the difficulties. Using past examples can serve as a strong foundation for moving ahead with larger, more expansive plans.

A review of the necessary actions continued as information on financial and engineering planning for the project continued to be received from interested firms. Thus, the feasibility of the Milford pipeline gained and it became a viable possibility.

A factor proven in similar projects was that intergovernmental cooperation was vital, between localities, the state, and the federal government. The Corps of Engineers was already in the process of studying water basins in Kansas, and in 1980 it studied the water supply and mineral intrusion in the Kansas and Osage river basins. Public hearings were held in October in Salina, Manhattan, and Osage City. As the study continued, the question of sending water out of the basins became very relevant.

The corps had also begun studying Milford, and in early 1982 asked Wichita to participate in the study. Specifically, Wynkoop was asked to be a member of an ad hoc committee on water supply for the Kansas and Osage rivers, which would deal with water supply planning in central and eastern Kansas, and would also study the future impact of water withdrawals from the Kansas River basin.

The first meeting for the committee was held on February 17, 1982, with Wynkoop and Withrow attending, along with various local, state, and federal officials. Corps lakes in the basin included Milford, Kanopolis, and Tuttle Creek, a reservoir east of Milford, which, like