A major Wichita water line is leaking. City officials say there’s no cause for alarm

A major water line is leaking in two spots near the Wichita Art Museum, but the city can’t repair it because the large valve that controls the water flow inside the pipe won’t close, city officials said.

Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple and Director of Public Works and Utilities Alan King called a news conference Thursday afternoon. They said the water remains safe to drink.

“There’s no cause for alarm,” King said. “The purpose for getting this information out is to make people aware of it.”

“At this point, we are anticipating no noticeable changes in the water service,” Whipple said. “However, we do want to let people know that we have identified a problem, we are working to fix the problem, and if the problem increases or gets worse, we will hope that folks . . . will be able to take appropriate measures in order to respond to this issue.”

Water pressure and water quality remain stable, and the water is safe to drink. But if the leaks get worse, Wichita will likely lose water pressure and have to begin conserving and boiling water before it’s safe to drink, King said.

The city of Wichita is working to rig an emergency workaround using new pumps and plastic pipes to route water around the leaks while the damaged pipe is repaired or replaced.

“We’re still trying to get it loose and functioning, but so far it has not,” King said of the valve. “So we have to assume that we’re going to have to respond to this with a valve not operating.”

City crews discovered the leak Wednesday afternoon while inspecting valves as part of a project that would connect the new Northwest Water Treatment Facility to the existing water system.

A 2017 study found the new, $500 million water treatment plant was needed because the city’s existing plant is in poor condition and is on the brink of failure. There is no backup.

The damaged 42-inch water pipe is one of three that delivers finished water from the Wichita Water Treatment Plant to the Hess Pump Station, which sends clean drinking water out to the entire city. It was installed in 1929, King said.

Wichita got a taste of how fragile its water system is in October, when an electrical problem set off a reaction that ended up breaking a main water line near McAdams Park. The water system lost pressure and, for 36 hours, more than 500,000 people had to boil water before it was safe to drink.

This week’s leaks are unlikely to be as catastrophic, King said.

“Normally, leaks like this, small leaks, don’t become catastrophic leaks in a very short period of time,” King said. “Normally, they change gradually over time. And we’re monitoring it. … And so we’ll hopefully get some advanced warning if this gets a lot worse.”

This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 7:30 PM.