The Wichita City Council has approved additional funding for a waste water reuse study.
The city says their goal is to make the community drought-resilient by creating a locally controlled, sustainable, future water supply. Recent drought demonstrated the city's vulnerability as the water levels at Cheney Lake dropped up until May 2025.
The city's waste water plant currently discharges around 25 million gallons of treated wastewater per day into the Arkansas River. Some of that water is reused by industries in the area, including Boeing.
Council member Mike Hoheisel said this project will be huge for Wichita's future.
The price tag thus far stands at around $1.9 million. A small-scale pilot project could cost the city an additional $7 million.
Creating another treatment plant to make drinkable water from the waste water facility will be a costly, long-term investment for the city. It's unknown when such a plant could be constructed, but it's likely many years down the road.
The city will wait until early next year to decide if they want to purchase a second police robotic dog.
As we reported last week, Police need more time with the first robot they purchased in April to test its performance and capabilities. The city council will take up the item again at their January 19, 2027 meeting.
The council gave the green light to a computer data backup and recovery plan for operations and the Airport.
The city suffered a major ransomware attack in May 2024, which severely disrupted municipal operations and compromised personal data.
The city says it has strengthened preventive controls but needs fast, reliable and automated recovery capabilities.
The plan will cost around $318 thousand.
