The City of Emporia offers many services to the people of the community. Most of these services are taken for granted or have become commonplace occurrences. This circumstance is a credit to City personnel, but the high expectations of these services often present problems to the Commission when evaluating what level of service should be provided to the community. City operations range from Administration to the Emporia Zoo, with services filling the remainder of the spectrum.

The following list provides an insight to many of the operations or opportunities presented by the City Administration

WATER UTILITY. The City of Emporia owns and operates its own water utility. Operation, maintenance, and improvement costs are paid entirely by revenue received from water sales.

The Neosho River is utilized as the principal source of supply, with the Cottonwood River as an auxiliary source. The City has five reservoirs--Lake Kahola, three in the Neosho River valley, and one on the Cottonwood River. The Governing Body may enter into agreements, as deemed necessary, to obtain future water supplies. The City has entered into a contract to obtain water from Council Grove Reservoir, which ensures adequate water for several years. The City also has water rights through membership in the Cottonwood & Neosho River Basins Water Assurance District #3.