2. Kansas Water Agencies
1. State natural resources agencies:
• KS Dept. of Agriculture with:
– Division of Water Resources (DWR)
– Division of Conservation (funding water projects)
• Kansas Water Office (water plan; reservoir management)
• KS Dept. of Health and Environment
• Local district: GMD’s and more
2. Federal agencies : USGS, Corps, Bureau of
Reclamation, more
3. About DWR
• Part of Kansas Department of Agriculture
• Three Programs
• Water Appropriation (water rights)
• Water Structures (dam safety, stream
permits, floodplain regulation)
• Water Management Services (interstate)
• Moving to Manhattan, summer 2014
• Less than 50 Headquarters Staff
• Less than 30 Field Office Staff
4. Water in Kansas
• Kansas: variability in hydrologic conditions
across the state
• Eastern Kansas
Primarily relies on surface water supplies; prone to
occasional persistent drought
• Central Kansas
Relies on a mixture of surface and groundwater
• Western Kansas
Primarily relies on the Ogallala-High
Plains aquifer for its water supply
8. Kansas Water Appropriation Act (1945)
• 82a – 702 All water within the state of Kansas is
hereby dedicated to the use of the people of
the state, subject to the control and regulation
of the state in the manner herein prescribed.
• 82a – 703 Except as provided in K.S.A. 82a-703a
and subject to vested rights, all waters within
the state may be appropriated for beneficial
use as herein provided…
9. Kansas Water Appropriation Act
• Our system of water rights
• Right to use water is based on prior
appropriation or “First in time, first in right”
• Charges chief engineer to oversee:
– Allocation of water supply, allowing for orderly
development of the state’s water resources
– Regulation of in times of shortage.
• Protects investments, commerce, property
rights and the resource
10. Water Regulation When Water Short
• During periods of shortage, junior water
rights may be curtailed to satisfy senior
rights and minimum desirable stream flow
• Releases from storage may be protected
• Protection of minimum desirable
streamflows
11. Fundamental Attributes of a Kansas
Water Right
• Rate and Quantity
•
•
•
•
Specific Place of Use
Specific Point of Diversion
Use made of Water
Priority Date
12. General Steps to Developing a Water
Right in Kansas
• Application filed – priority based on application filing
date
• DWR determines whether application can be approved,
based in part on well spacing and safe yield
• If approved, applicant must complete diversion works
and put water to authorized beneficial use
• Applicant must file annual water use reports
• DWR will conduct a field inspection and certify the
water right based on actual water use during perfection
period
• A water right is a real property right
13. New Appropriation
• Water is appropriated based on safeyield
• New appropriations cannot impair
existing water rights
• Water rights can be administered if
impairment does occur
• Most of western Kansas is closed to new
development
14.
15. Certain Aspects of Water Rights Can be Modified
K.S.A. 82a-708b
• Point of Diversion
• Place of Use
• Use Made of Water
• Must not increase consumptive use
• May not impair existing rights
• Must relate to the same “local source of supply.”
16. Enforcement
• K.S.A. 82a-728: Unlawful Acts and Penalties,
illegal water use is a Class C Misdemeanor.
• K.S.A. 82a-737: Civil Enforcement of Act allows
monetary fines of $100 to $1,000 per violation
of KWAA or any provision of a water right
• Each day of violation may be treated as a
separate offense
• K.A.R. 5-14-1 through K.A.R. 5-14-11 outline our
enforcement procedures
17. Governor Brownback’s
Call to Action
Issued a call to action
to address the need for
a Vision for Kansas
water that meets the
state’s needs now and
in the future.
18. “Water and the Kansas economy are
directly linked. Water is a finite resource
and without further planning and action
we will no longer be able to meet our
state’s current needs, let alone growth.”
- Governor Sam Brownback
19. If We Take No Action
in the Next 50 Years…
• The Ogallala will be 70% depleted
• Another 40% of the area irrigated by the Ogallala
won’t support a 400 gal-per-minute well
20.
21. If We Take No Action
in the Next 50 Years…
• Water supply reservoirs will be 40% filled with
sediment
• Five of the seven major river basins that support
municipal and industrial use won’t meet demands
during a drought
22. 50-Year Projected Reservoir Water
Supply Storage Loss from Federal
Water Supply Reservoirs
20% Loss of
Storage to
Date
1,800,000
1,600,000
Additional 20% Loss of
Storage Projected in
the Next 50 Years
1,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
Pre-2010
2010
2060
23. What Will This Vision Achieve?
40% Global
Animal Health &
Veterinary Science
Interests
7th in Value of
Agricultural
Exports
50% Domestic
Commercial
Aircraft
The 50-Year Vision for Water in Kansas will align the priority of
growing the Kansas economy with the strategies and actions necessary
to ensure a reliable water supply is available to support that growth.
24. Value of Our Water Resources
• Irrigated cropland in
Ogallala region has a $5
billion value
• Ogallala was
responsible for $1.75
billion in corn
production and $2
billion in beef
production
• Reservoirs provide
water in some manner to
two-thirds of Kansas’
citizens
• 60% of the electricity
production in Kansas at
a value of $1.96 billion
relies on our state’s
reservoirs
25. What Will the Vision Address?
• A reliable water supply sufficient to meet the needs of
a growing Kansas population and economy, through:
– Actions to conserve and extend the useful life of
the High Plains Ogallala Aquifer
– Actions to secure, protect and restore reservoir
storage
26. Keeping the Vision Focused
Extreme Events
Water Quality
Recreation
Infrastructure
Actions to achieve and address these water resource
concerns will continue to be addressed in the Kansas
Water Plan.
27. How does this Vision fit with the
Kansas Water Plan?
• The KWP will remain the
state’s plan to coordinate the
management, conservation and
development of the water
resources of the state.
• In 2014, the KWO will also
complete a 5-year update
to the KWP.
28. Who Will Lead the Vision?
Kansas Water Office
Kansas Department of Agriculture
Tracy Streeter, Director
Jackie McClaskey, Acting Secretary
Earl Lewis, Assistant Director
Greg Foley, Division of Conservation
Susan Metzger, Chief of Planning &
Policy/Vision Team Leader
Lane Letourneau, Division of Water
Resources
Katie Ingels, Communications Director
Kansas Water Authority
While working closely with:
Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors
Ex-Officio Agencies of the KWA
29. Who Will This Process Include?
The Visioning Team will meet with many stakeholders
such as:
Kansas Farm Bureau, Kansas Livestock Association,
Kansas Rural Water Association, Kansas Association of
Counties, League of Kansas Municipalities,
Kansas Municipal Utilities, Kansas Water Marketing and
Water Assurance District Customers,
Groundwater Management Districts etc.
30. Who Will This Process Include?
Stakeholder outreach will also make use of existing
committees to the KWA:
• Basin Advisory Committees (BACs)
• Ogallala Aquifer Advisory Committee (OAAC)
• Reservoir Advisory Committee (RAC)
• Kansas Aqueduct Stakeholder Committee
As well as many other stakeholders throughout the state.
31. What is the Timeline for the Vision
for the Future of Water in Kansas?
October
2013
Governor’s
Conference
November
2013
Establish
timeline,
outreach
plan and
deliverables
January –
April 2014
Stakeholder
Outreach
May 2014
Public
Update at
KWA
Meeting
July 2014
Draft Vision
August
2014
Public
Update at
KWA
Meeting
September
2014
Final Draft
Vision
October
2014
Governor’s
Conference
November
2014
Final Vision
to Governor
32. Vision
Big Picture Idea of What You Want to Achieve
Mission
General statement of how you will achieve your vision
Goals
General statements of what you want to achieve,
integrated with vision & mission
Strategies
Series of actions or activities designed to achieve the goal
33. Assumptions for Vision Discussion
Everything is on the
table for discussion.
Status quo does not
define our future.
34. Vision
Kansas will have adequate water
resources to support the state’s current
needs and the long-term needs of a
growing Kansas economy.
35. Vision
Kansas will have adequate water resources to support the state’s current
needs and the long-term needs of a growing Kansas economy.
Mission
Develop framework, policy and tools,
in concert with stakeholders, to
manage the state’s water resources
that balance conservation with
economic growth; and secure, protect
and restore water storage.
36. Vision
Kansas will have adequate water resources to support the state’s current
needs and the long-term needs of a growing Kansas economy.
Mission
Develop framework, policy and tools, in concert with
stakeholders, to manage the state’s water resources that balance
conservation with economic growth; and secure, protect and
restore water storage.
Goals
Examples Include:
Maintain and/or increase reservoir water supply
storage
Increase reuse or use of lower quality of sources of
water
Better manage withdrawals from the High Plains
Aquifer
37. How Can I Provide Input?
• Visit www.kwo.org & Click on “50-Year Vision”
• Contact the Kansas Water Office at:
kwo-info@kwo.ks.gov
or call 785-296-3185
toll free: 1-888-526-9283
