KANSAS CITY, KAN. ? Unlike their counterparts in western Kansas, residents in the northeast section of the state have little concern about their water supply. But getting it where it needs to go, when it needs to get there, now that’s a challenge.

The Missouri and Kansas rivers provide not only an abundant supply of water, but several easily accessible sites for the wells, pumps, reservoirs and other million-dollar equipment needed to get the water to treatment plants.

But it requires constant planning to keep up with a booming population that wants more water not only for drinking, bathing and cooking but also for green lawns.

Despite recent improvements to their water supply infrastructure, more multimillion dollar water projects are being planned in Johnson and Wyandotte counties and the city of Olathe. Water officials say they constantly try to balance the growing demand against the expense of the projects.

Lawrence capacity

In Lawrence, an expansion of the Clinton Lake water plant in 2001 boosted capacity by 5 million gallons a day, to 31.5 million gallons. At the peak of this dry summer, consumption topped out at about 24 million gallons a day. But in Lawrence, and across northeast Kansas, residential and commercial growth keeps pushing demand.

“It can get dicey sometimes,” said William Ramsey, municipal services director for Olathe. “You don’t want to overplan because then you have expensive capital tied up in equipment that you might use only once or twice a year.”

Johnson County Water District 1, the Board of Public Utilities in Wyandotte County and the city of Olathe all use consultants, who help guess where development might occur, what the demand for water will be and how much it will cost to provide it.

But some things — such as a stretch of brutal heat and humidity this August — can’t be predicted.

‘Close to the edge’

Don Gray, general manager of the Wyandotte County Board of Public Utilities water department, holds samples of water while at a state-of-the-art water plant in Kansas City, Kan.

While water use in Lawrence was up, it remained well below treatment capacity. But Johnson County residents set several water use records during August; on Aug. 24, customers used 148.14 million gallons a day — the highest amount ever used in the district. Water use averaged 123.51 million gallons a day in August.

“Before 2002, we never averaged more than 100 million gallons a day,” said Tom Schrempp, director of production for the district. “Our supply was never endangered this summer, but our equipment was pushed pretty close to the edge.”

The increased consumption caused Water District 1 to briefly stop selling excess water to Olathe, prompting that city to restrict outdoor water use. Water use in Olathe also set records this summer, going over 27 million gallons a day, more than 2 million gallons higher than last year’s daily supply.

Ten years ago in Olathe, water use during peak demand periods was 170-180 gallons per person per day, Ramsey said. This summer, that increased to 260 gallons per person per day.

Nonessential uses

Ramsey said much of that increased use is for nonessential needs, such as landscaping or irrigation.

“We’re building more capacity largely because peak demand times are driven by people wanting to water their lawns.” Ramsey said. “I’m not sure that’s the best use of our resources.”

Filters are back-flushed at the water plant in Kansas City, Kan. The Wyandotte County Board of Public Utilities provides about 28 million gallons a day for its 54,000 customers.

In Wyandotte County, the Board of Public Utilities provides an average of 28 million gallons a day for its 54,000 customers. At times this summer, the rate hit 47 million gallons a day, said Don Gray, general manager of the utility.

The utility was well positioned to handle the demand, thanks to a $56 million state-of-the-art water plant that opened in 2000. Gray said the need for the plant was driven more by the age of the old water treatment plant than by increased demand.

With help from federal and state money, an insurance settlement after the 1993 flood, bonds and a 20 percent rate increase, the Board of Public Utilities was able to build one of the largest collector wells in the world, with a capacity of 47 million gallons a day. It sits on the Missouri River, not far from a new, sparkling headquarters where the water is treated and tested before being sent to consumers.

Wyandotte growth

The utility is building another $6.5 million collector well to provide backup capacity. But it also is turning its attention to older infrastructure in the county, proposing $23.2 million in new projects — some in older sections of the county and others near a booming area in western Wyandotte County.

After years of losing population, developers and new residents are beginning to arrive, thanks largely to the opening of the Kansas Speedway in 2001, which in turn sparked more development.

“How many (new projects) we get done depends somewhat on continued growth,” Gray said. “But I’ll tell you, it’s nice to be bringing in some revenue from growth rather than just raising rates.”

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Growth is the norm for Johnson County, which had a population increase of 27 percent — or 96,065 residents — between 1990 and 2000. Water District 1 provides an average of 55 million gallons a day, with a capacity of 165 million gallons a day.

A project currently under way will increase that capacity to 180 million gallons a day by 2005, and another project under consideration would increase capacity an additional 25 million to 30 million gallons a day by 2009. Schrempp said planners already are estimating that the district will need to provide 330 million gallons a day in 40 years.

In Olathe

“We’re always looking at what the population demands are,” Schrempp said. “We have to do the construction in phases because we don’t want too much capacity, but we want enough to stay ahead of it so we don’t have to impose restrictions.

In Olathe, a $2.5 million well is being dug near the Kansas River, and the city has begun studying its options to increase the current plant’s capacity. Olathe’s population grew 47 percent — by 29,610 people — between 1990 and 2000.

Ramsey said much of the growth is outside the boundaries of the city’s water supply district, so the increased use per person is a larger concern.

“That steady increase in consumption rates is troublesome,” Ramsey said. “We have to consider using water for health versus having treated water for the grass.”