U.S. Water News Online
WICHITA, Kan. -- A $5 million study recently completed by the U.S. Geological Survey clears the way for the city of Wichita to recharge the Equus Beds aquifer with water from the Little Arkansas River.
The study, paid for by the city and the USGS, examined 400 different pollutants and decided the water was clean enough to use -- if the city treated the river water and used caution.
The city hopes to deposit into the aquifer 65 billion gallons of river water, the same amount held by Cheney Reservoir. The water could then be withdrawn later from the aquifer during a drought.
For the past five years the city has been experimenting with taking water out of the Little Arkansas River and pumping it into the Equus Beds, an aquifer that is one of the city's main sources of drinking water.
Without a new water source, the city predicts it could run short of water in the next 8 to 13 years. The recharge plan may provide residents with all the water they need for at least the next 50 years.
If the city's plan works, the city says it will have the water necessary to grow and attract new industry. Residents will be able to water their lawns and fill their swimming pools with few restrictions.
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