NEWS RELEASE

City of Lawrence, Kansas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, May 4, 2006

CONTACT: Debbie Van Saun, assistant city manager, (785) 832-3400

Progress update on Wakarusa Water Reclamation Facility

(LAWRENCE, Ks) – Last October, the City of Lawrence began studying potential sites for a new water reclamation facility.  The planned facility will provide capacity for a city of a population of 150,000.  The process led to two potential sites for final consideration.  The city must now begin on-site exploration of the areas by first working with property owners to receive permission to access the locations of interest.  On-site investigations will identify any site issues that could impact schedule, costs or the permitting process including environmental, geotechnical and cultural assessments, threatened and endangered species, wetland investigations and surveying.

A public meeting will be held to discuss the rankings and evaluations of all the site options and the two potential sites.  The meeting is set for Wednesday, May 10 at 7p.m. in the auditorium at City Hall, 6 East Sixth Street. City staff along with representatives from Black & Veatch, engineering consultants to the city for the project, will lead the presentation and answer questions. 

The two potential sites are both located immediately south of the Wakarusa River.  One of the potential sites is located just west of US-59, north and south of N. 1200 Road.  The other potential site is east of Haskell Avenue and northeast of N. 1100 Road and E.1 600 Road.  The city continues to work to accelerate completion of the facility by working on the site selection while developing ways to fast track the facility design and construction.

The city used a Public Advisory Committee, a group of citizens and stakeholders appointed by the Mayor, to guide the site selection process.  The PAC served as a voice for community members, providing input regarding site utilization concepts and appearance related to the water reclamation facility.

“The efforts of the Public Advisory Committee to determine the criteria important in selecting a site contributed to a through analysis of the possible areas.  I am pleased that the process has had valuable input from stakeholders and the community.  We look forward to continuing to receive input as we approach completing the site selection phase of the project,” said Debbie Van Saun, assistant city manager.

The project website, http://www.lawrenceutilities.org/wwrf/index.shtml, has been updated with a draft executive summary of the Wakarusa Water Reclamation Facility Study.  Also added to the website is a map of the two potential sites.

Individuals unable to attend the meeting can contact Debbie Van Saun, assistant city manager, at 785-832-3400 or dvansaun@ci.lawrence.ks.us.

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