Valley Center city leaders are planning for the future of the growing community, developing an independent water supply and water treatment system to replace its current contract to buy treated water from the city of Wichita. In joint venture partnership with CAS Constructors, we are the design-build contractor executing this capital project for Valley Center.
Valley Center has three existing water supply wells that have historically been used as a raw water source for Wichita. The new plant will utilize those water resources and provide greater control over the quality and cost of water for Valley Center customers.
The design-build team started with an evaluation of treatment technologies based on capital cost, ease of operations, ability to meet future regulations and ease of expansion. Technologies evaluated included: traditional lime softening, ion exchange, pellet softening and greensand filtration with membrane treatment. A collaborative workshop with the city reviewed the treatment technologies and led to the selection of greensand filtration with nanofiltration to achieve the desired water quality goals.
Once treatment technologies were selected, the team assisted in identifying funding sources, including $1.5 million in principal forgiveness through the State Revolving Loan Fund based on removing manganese, an emerging contaminant, from the water supply. Our team is also working to maximize the city’s water rights, enabling the plant to serve Valley Center long into the future.