Utilities department draws attention to its history

Some of the City of Topeka's utilities department's active sewer infrastructure was installed in the 1800s, that department noted this week on its Facebook page.

The post involved was part of an ongoing effort to better educate this community about what the utilities department does and how its staff "got to where we are today," said Ryan Woolaway, the department's community education manager.

"And with a history almost as long as Topeka’s, there is plenty to tell," he said Thursday.

The utilities department posed a question Tuesday on its Facebook site: "True or False: The City of Topeka Utilities Department has active infrastructure that was installed in the 1800s. Comment below with your guess!"

Fourteen people responded on that page. Each guessed the statement was true.

A reader shared the post on the Topeka History Geeks Facebook site, where 39 people commented beneath. Almost all guessed the statement was true.

The utilities department confirmed the statement was indeed true in a follow-up post Wednesday.

"The City of Topeka Utilities Department has approximately 29,730 linear feet of BRICK sanitary sewer still in use today," the post said. "There are segments of this brick sewer that have installation dates that range from 1892 to 1924."

The post was accompanied by a photo of a brick storm sewer.

"We hope you enjoyed playing along and gained some fun Topeka history," the post said.

Woolaway said the utilities department in early April began posting information about the rich history it enjoys on its Facebook page as part of a "Throwback Thursdays" feature.

"We quickly learned that Topeka likes to hear about its history, and we plan to  continue sharing our story," he said.

A post put on the Facebook site July 4 said that date marked the anniversary of the day Topeka's first water distribution system began operating, on July 4, 1882.

Bob Sample is director of the utilities department, which Woolaway said seeks to reach as many of its customers as possible and inform them about the work that department does.

"The utilities department has a lot of divisions that people don’t know about, and we do work like take care of wetlands in Topeka and take care of storm sewers and drainage issues along with making the water safe to drink," he said.

The utilities department also started a monthly "Facebook Live" series in which its employees talk about city utilities programs, he said.