The water issue subsided in the early 1930's as the economic depression filled the minds of most Americans. The water supply continued to be taken almost entirely from wells on Waterworks Island. As the need for water increased over time, additional wells were added, and by 1940, 56 were in use. Forty-two were eight inches in diameter and all connected to suction pumps in the station. There were also 11 usable gravel-walled wells on the island and three located on the mainland. Fourteen wells were equipped with electrically driven turbine pumps, each yielding from 1,000 to 1,660 gallons per minute. Water for all of the wells was obtained from the alluvium, the permeable sand and gravel beneath the river bed. During hot summer days, consumption would rise to 21.5 million gallons a day, while the city's average was ten to 20 million gallons. The demand for water continued to increase while the source, declared in 1912 as unfit for use, remained the same.

During the middle 1930's, a severe drought threatened the water supply in many Kansas towns. The situation never became critical in Wichita, although in 1937 water had to be diverted from the Little Arkansas River to supplement the wells because of shortages. But, near the end of the decade, an outside force intervened to give the city the impetus it needed for action.

The federal government set up many organizations during the Roosevelt years to distribute aid to states and localities during the depression, and to bolster the economy. According to an analysis by Dr. Harry Corbin, it was the availability of federal money that finally spurred a local response to the dire water situation. He wrote, "The initial action which eventually led Wichita to the Equus Beds and ultimately to the Ninnescah River, through an extended controversy which traveled the maze of the federal courts and bureaucracy, as well as state and local conflict, was almost an accident in history. By mid-1938 modest industrial growth in Wichita suggested the eventual need for more water, but the motivating factor was the possibility of securing money from the Public Works Administration." (Corbin, 1972).

On June 21, 1938, the federal government appropriated $965,000,000 for the Public Works Administration (PWA) to be used for public project grants. Under the terms of the legislation, the federal government could furnish 45 percent of the required funds for approved projects, with localities paying the remainder. Immediately after hearing of the availability of the funds, City Manager Bert Wells, who had coordinated the failing effort a decade earlier, began taking steps to secure a PWA grant to finance a soft water system.

In 1931, the main drawback to the Equus Beds solution was the cost which the grant would now minimize despite the increase in price over the decade. Many other options had been considered but each had serious drawbacks. An impounded supply from the Flint Hills in Butler or Greenwood counties was rejected because it lacked a catchment area and the distance was too far. A supply from the Ninnescah River, west of the city, was also a possibility but the price was prohibitive. The Little Arkansas River remained an option, but with the increasing demand, a sufficient quantity was questionable. The Equus Beds remained as the most desirable and practical choice.

In many ways, use of the Equus Beds was a compromise to obtain a maximum quantity of quality water with the least damage of salt water contamination. Although the utility grew to 25,266 water users in 1938, compared to less than 10,000 prior to 1920, the supply was not of the quality needed to attract more people and business. Because of the high salinity in the narrow belt parallel to the Little Arkansas River, it was necessary to stay as far away from it as possible, as well as from the Burrton oil fields. Over the years various investigations by the state and the Water Company had continued providing the city with the most available information.

In 1937, the company had made several test holes in the Arkansas River valley, east of Bentley, to investigate the potential of obtaining a supply there. A large amount of water was found, but as a result of its proximity to the river, it was of very poor quality. Therefore, when additional studies were conducted, a site in Harvey County southwest of Halstead was selected as the prime location.

All of these factors led to the Equus Beds. When the city had to act quickly in order to obtain the federal grant, it chose the area with the fewest questions concerning quality and quantity. Of course, much study and verification remained to meet federal requirements, but the city now had its opening.

On June 27, 1938, only six days after the passage of the federal act, the City Commission passed a resolution appropriating $10,000 in additional funds to pay for the city's share of the cost of a preliminary survey for securing soft water. It was conducted in cooperation with the Kansas and U.S. geological surveys.

The federal government had already studied waterways throughout the nation for many years. Years of legislation, supported by Supreme Court decisions, allowed the government to expand its control over navigable waterways and their tributaries in matters of navigation, flood control, water supply, irrigation, pollution, recreation and conservation. Within these broad limits, the U.S. had developed water and land resource development programs for river basin areas and would join the investigation into the Equus Beds area.

Kansas water supply studies had already been conducted by the Corps of Engineers in the 1930's. A comprehensive report on the White, Missouri, and Arkansas rivers was published on March 30, 1932, another was performed on the Arkansas River and its tributaries on August 24, 1935, and a Red River study was released on January 3, 1936. The federal interest in public works projects was soon joined by the city in its pursuit of a water supply. This allowed an arrangement between the U.S. Geological Survey, the Kansas Division of Water Resources, the Kansas Board of Health, and the city of Wichita to jointly pay for the extensive ground surveys in the Equus Beds area. The purpose was to fulfill a requirement to determine that a supply was adequate before a substantial amount of money was expended on the project by the federal government.