A ‘silver lining’ in Wichita’s drought? Cheney water levels low enough to repair dam
The city of Wichita is planning to take advantage of Cheney Reservoir’s historic-low water levels by fixing its crumbling dam.
The Wichita City Council on Tuesday approved a $13.85 million project to repair 1.5 miles of soil cement “armor” that protects Cheney Reservoir’s dam.
The reservoir, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Wichita, provides up to 80% of the city’s raw water that is then treated and delivered to customers as clean drinking water.
“If there’s any silver lining to this drought at all, it’s the ability to go in and make these repairs,” said Gary Janzen, director of public works and utilities.
Cheney Reservoir is more than 8 feet below normal, and the city of Wichita has been under outdoor watering restrictions since early August.
The man-made reservoir was built in the 1960s to provide a reliable water supply.
A U.S. Department of Interior inspection report in 1981 suggested a 10-year inspection and repair schedule to prevent erosion and damage to the core of the dam. The city then waited 19 years to repair the dam’s concrete, last completing work on the dam in 2000. No additional repairs to the dam have been done in the past 24 years — resulting in “significant erosion and decay,” according to a city report.
“Needless to say, one of our biggest challenges with trying to make repairs of this dam is you got to lower the reservoir, and that’s not something we ever want to do,” Janzen said. “That’s why we’re taking that opportunity now.”
Janzen said the water level is about 1.5 feet below the bottom of the dam, which is constructed in a stair-step pattern that requires the bottom step to be poured before the next step can be built.
Janzen said the city expects to have a contractor in place within 60 days and for construction to start soon after that. He said the city plans to put cancellation clauses in the contract that would allow the city to abandon the project if lake levels rise enough to affect the project while it’s being built.
A wave break system will also be installed to prevent rising water levels from interfering with construction.
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