As the largest regional water provider in Kansas, Wichita serves more than 500,000 people. To ensure the quality and quantity of our water, the City of Wichita has partnered with Wichita Water Partners to develop a new, state-of-the-art water treatment facility to serve Wichita for generations.
The current water treatment plant is 80 years old and cannot meet the future needs of our community. The current plant also lacks redundancy, jeopardizing water security for local users. The new water treatment facility will bolster economic development opportunities for the city and surrounding communities. City officials determined a new state-of-the-art facility is a wise investment in Wichita’s future.
On October 28, 2019 Wichita Water Partners submitted to the City a guaranteed price of $494.2 million. The City Council voted to increase water and sewer rates on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. The proposed rates for 2023 are 6.25% for water and 3% for sewer, for a combined rate adjustment of 4.95%. The increase, which city leaders expect will result in an additional $2 - $7 per month on water bills, will allow Wichitans and users from surrounding municipalities to begin paying off the low-interest rate loans that are financing the project.
The facility will be located in northwest Wichita, on property owned by the City of Wichita, along 21st Street and Hoover Road (near Zoo Boulevard).
The new Northwest Water Facility will be Wichita’s largest-ever capital project. It will cover approximately 40 acres and be able to deliver 120 million gallons of treated water per day. The new plant will be capable of treating the full range of water supply sources.
The City of Wichita entered into a contract with Wichita Water Partners on February 12, 2019 to complete the first phase of the project, which included developing a 30% project design, finalizing the maximum price and preparing loan applications. The second phase of the project began on October 22, 2020 with the official groundbreaking and start of construction. We estimate this project will take approximately five years to build. At the peak of construction, our team expects 350 workers to be onsite constructing Wichita’s newest water treatment facility. The new water treatment facility is expected to be operational by the end of 2024.
The Northwest Water Facility will serve nearly 500,000 customers, including residents in Wichita, Eastborough, Rose Hill, Benton, Kechi, Andover, Derby, Valley Center, Bentley, Rural Water Districts 1, 3 and 8, and more.
Wichita Water Partners is built around the design capabilities and construction leadership of St. Louis-based Alberici and Kansas City-based Burns & McDonnell, along with a team of strong local design and construction partners. The Wichita Water Partners team has delivered on-time and on-budget design-build water facilities in Wichita and around the country, bringing a local team and world-class expertise to this project. The team's lead firms have been selected more than 30 times for design-build projects across the state that have been successfully completed. This includes completing Wichita’s largest design-build project to date – on schedule and under budget.
This project is critical to Wichita's future growth and a game changer for our region. The availability of clean, safe water will continue to make a positive impact on our economic development by safeguarding our water supply and creating jobs today and into the future
John Rolfe
President and CEO, Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce
Wichita Water Partners includes St. Louis-based Alberici Construction, Kansas City-based engineering firm Burns & McDonnell and multiple local and regional firms. With the addition of local design and construction partners joining our team, collectively our team members employ approximately 1,000 people who call Wichita home. You can learn more about the companies.
