In 1998-99 a large scale water feature located in down town Wichita, Kansas, failed twice due to the lack of expansion joints in the long masonry structure. After the first failure the engineer-of-record did not determine the cause of the failure and required the water wall to be rebuilt without any changes. After the second failure, and prior to the start of the second re-construction project, GES Tech Group was retained by the construction contractor to investigate the cause of distress and ultimate failures. Evaluation of construction materials, laboratory testing, and detailed computer simulations of the unique curved geometry, identified the root cause of both failures as fundamental design defects. A modified design was implemented, based on GES Tech Group recommendations, for the second rebuild project.
GES Tech Group was retained to represent the contractor in legal proceedings that resulted from this failure.
A follow-up inspection in 2009 confirmed that the modifications successfully addressed the original design defects as there was no evidence of distress or cracking.
In 2009, the Water Wall feature was inspected and found to be sound with no evidence of distress
