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Take a tour through the new Wichita Water Works

The city of Wichita's new water treatment plant is nearing completion. City and construction staff showed off the facility on Thursday at a first-time tour for media.

Wichita's new water treatment plant is a $573 million project that began in 2019.

Officials undertook the project out of concern that the city's current 80-year-old treatment plant needs to be replaced.

Construction of the new plant is complete. It now needs to be tested, which requires running millions of gallons of water a day through it.

Gary Janzen, Wichita's public works director, said testing will begin in November.

"We just can't provide that amount of water during the summer months, drought notwithstanding," Janzen said.

The new plant is expected to open in April. Even after it begins operations, Janzen said the city is likely to continue using the former treatment plant through 2025 as it assesses the new plant.

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Celia Hack is a general assignment reporter for KMUW, where she covers everything from housing to environmental issues to Sedgwick County. Before KMUW, she worked at The Wichita Beacon covering local government and as a freelancer for The Shawnee Mission Post and the Kansas Leadership Center’s The Journal. She is originally from Westwood, Kansas, but Wichita is her home now.