The Kansas Rural Water Association honored De Soto with the 2007 Most Improved Water System Award last week at an awards ceremony in Wichita. The association cited the city’s efforts to stem unaccounted water loss, which in recent years caused the city to lose as much as 70 percent of the water it produced.

But last year, De Soto sought to find the cause of the leakage. The city repaired water mains, and by February had reduced the water loss by an average of 350 gallons per minute, or 11 percent.

Elmer Ronnebaum, general manager of the association, which is under contract with the Kansas Water Office, said De Soto’s problems began in 1997, when it undertook ownership of the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant. Subsequent problems with accounting, meter reading and tracking of the water supply led to the water loss, he said.

Ronnebaum commended the city’s persistence in tackling the problem.

“De Soto exhibited excellent discipline and following through on a variety of recommendations,” he said.