Wichita City Council members are set to hear their first briefing on the Sept. 16 power failure that left about 500,000 customers under a boil-water advisory.
The workshop at 455 N. Main St. includes an update on the Hess Pump Station failure, a progress report on the $36 million Bleckley drainage project and a Wichita Water Works monthly update, according to the council agenda.
What went wrong at Hess
On the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 15, the city's water treatment plant and Hess Pump Station switched from Evergy grid power to backup generators as a precaution ahead of incoming storms. A brief power "blip" had already hit the plant during thunderstorms that night.
Around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, a malfunction knocked out two generators and prevented two others from starting, cutting power to the pumps for about 45 minutes, DVIDS reported. Evergy grid power was available the entire time, but the system does not automatically switch back to the grid when backup power fails.
Public Works Director Gary Janzen told the Wichita Eagle on Sept. 16 that the lack of an automatic failover was a key vulnerability. "It is not set up to kick back to primary power, unfortunately," Janzen said. "As far as we know, primary power was available."
It took about 20 minutes to manually restore Evergy power. The Wichita Eagle reported water pressure returned by 7:30 a.m., while KWCH reported pressure was back by 6:15 a.m. Any drop below 20 pounds per square inch (psi) can trigger a boil-water advisory. The city said it was unsure how much of the system fell below that threshold.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) rescinded the advisory for Wichita proper on Thursday, Sept. 17, after 195 water samples came back clean, KSN reported. The advisory lasted about 34 hours in Wichita.
Janzen also acknowledged that the system used to collect operating data went down during the outage. The data may not be recoverable.
City officials said generator load testing was completed by Friday, Sept. 18, and they hoped to have a report ready for the workshop. No source has confirmed whether that report was finished or what it found.
Bleckley drainage back before council
The workshop also includes a review of the Bleckley drainage project, a $36 million effort to address decades of flooding along Bleckley Street in east Wichita. The council approved additional funding for the project on Feb. 25, 2025, by a 6-0 vote. The full cost is drawn from the Storm Water Utility Fund over three years.
Phase one is underway.
Phase two is where residents have pushed back. It would require removing 89 trees along Bleckley to make room for utilities and a sanitary sewer, KSN first reported. Temporary lanes would be paved through residents' front yards during construction, KWCH reported.
At a Sept. 16 community meeting, resident Charles Harris said neighbors want the city to install electric barriers on crossing streets instead of proceeding with the full Phase 2 plan. Resident Jen Calvert, who said she is on chemotherapy for stage four cancer, raised health concerns about excavation and asphalt work 12 feet from her home.
District 1 Council Member Joseph Shepard, whose district includes the project area, pledged at the Sept. 16 meeting to take residents' calls, meet with them and walk their block, according to KSN.
Phase two is scheduled to begin in fall 2027, with all phases expected to wrap up in 2029. A flooding-related fatality occurred on Bleckley in the 1970s, according to Janzen's February 2025 council presentation.
What else is on the agenda
The workshop also includes a biological nutrient removal construction update, a 2027 state legislative preview and a 2026 economic development review. The workshop begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, in the First Floor Board Room at 455 N. Main St.
