In November, BPU Project Manager Chris Unruh and Jeff Heidrick, Senior Project Manager with Burns & McDonnell, traveled to Manhattan, Kansas, to present to attendees of the Governor’s Water Conference on McPherson’s South Well Field Project and how it delivers sustainable supply to McPherson and the region.  They were 2 of 60 presenters at the two-day conference, which began on November 13th.

Chris Unruh kicked off the presentation by giving the audience the proper context, including sharing McPherson’s history -highlighting its industrial growth as well as explaining how excessive groundwater declines in the region spurred the creation of the Intensive Groundwater Use Control Area (IGUCA), he also explained the commendable efforts to incentivize conservation from the McPherson Board of Public Utilities as well as CHS Refinery’s Wastewater Treatment Effluent Reclamation Project. Unruh explained that while these efforts extended the life of the aquifer’s area supply, they were not enough to ensure a sustainable future water supply.

Jeff Heidrick then hit on the design elements for the well field, raw water pipeline project, and water treatment facility before handing it back to Unruh to wrap up the presentation by discussing the different aspects of the construction process. Comments and conversations with the audience following the presentation were very positive.  Most of these comments centered around how this project demonstrated incredible foresight and determination.  Foresight and determination are qualities that have served and will continue to serve the BPU and McPherson long into the future.

The Kansas Governor’s Water Conference is a two-day annual event drawing hundreds of attendees throughout the event. This year’s conference hosted 600 attendees, including researchers, agency professionals, organizations, and non-profits related to water, legislators, and more!