Print edition: 
We Wichitans take the availability of low-cost, good-quality water for granted. But beginning in the late 1940s, water restrictions and absolute cutoffs of water occurred with some frequency during periods of peak demand. This crisis was precipitated by the dramatic war-induced growth of the 1940s and early 1950s and compounded by inaction in City Hall.
A coalition of community leaders emerged to address the water crisis as well as other growth-related issues, and a protracted battle over the future of the city unfolded. Over the next eight years, naysayers fought City Hall literally at every step that required public investment in the future of the city.
In the end, however, city leaders along with city voters persevered to invest $47 million to acquire the city water utility from its private owners and build Cheney Reservoir. These decisions assured an abundant water supply in support of our regional economy for the next 50 years.
The 500,000 Kansans who benefit daily from the actions taken more than 50 years ago owe a debt of gratitude to the elected city officials who courageously stepped forward and made the difficult decisions — folks such as A.E. Howse, James Gardner, E.E. Baird, Herbert Lindsley, Levi Rymph, Justus Fugate, Carl Bell and Gerald Byrd.
The decisions made then, coupled with exceptional administrative leadership since that time, are responsible for allowing Wichita ratepayers to enjoy among the lowest water rates in the nation.
Yes, you read that right. A 2008 study by the reputable engineering firm Black and Veatch of Overland Park found that Wichita water rates were in the lowest tiers among the nation's 50 largest cities.
Based on my brief stint in City Hall, I also concluded that the availability of water at reasonable rates spawns economic prospects that would not otherwise materialize and enhances opportunities for future expansion. An industry with high water demands that is seeking to locate a new facility likely will place Wichita high on its radar. This strategic advantage may be expected to grow as the water supplies of burgeoning western regions of the United States become even more constrained.
Our community is not experiencing the crisis faced by our predecessors, but the 50-year water supply they bequeathed to us has about reached its limits. For most of the past two decades, Wichita officials have been charting plans and testing prototypes for a water supply that will serve our community and region for the next 50 years.
This project, the Equus Beds Aquifer Storage and Recharge Project, has been most ably led by David Warren, our city's recently retired water utility director, in close cooperation with regional parties and collaboration with state and national officials. This cutting-edge technology captures and cleans excess flow from the Little Arkansas River and recharges the Equus Beds aquifer, a groundwater reservoir of immense importance to agriculture, industry and everyday life in our region.
The project has entered the second phase of construction, and its costs are steep. Rate increases will be required for this investment, both immediately and periodically in the years ahead.
Though our city's elected officials do not have the advantage of a water crisis that engaged and unified our community 50 years ago, they do follow in the footsteps of their predecessors and deserve our community's support. They are challenged to continue a legacy of water that assures the future of our community and region.
