Update: City of Wichita taking over operation of long-delayed water treatment plant

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) — A more-than-$500-million project that’s faced multiple setbacks took a significant step toward completion, the City of Wichita announced.

Two years after the original target for Wichita’s new water treatment plant to go online, the city confirmed it signed a certificate of occupancy to take over operation of the facility. The city now expects the plant to be fully online in the second quarter of 2027, nearly three years after the original mark.

The development follows an update from late July in which Wichita Water Works reported that testing was going well and that repairs on damaged clarifiers were wrapping up.

Problems with clarifiers, part of the plant that removes suspended solids from water that’s being treated, pushed the project completion target date beyond 2025.

The city said the clarifier repairs and successful testing that followed cleared the way for it to progress to the next phase of bringing the new water treatment plant fully online.

With its signed certificate of occupancy, the City of Wichita explained that it’s allotted six months for training on “operation and maintenance and ensuring water operations can safely and reliably transition fully from the current water treatment plant.”