David Barfield, P.E.
Chief Engineer - Division of Water Resources
Kansas Department of Agriculture
Secretary of Agriculture Adrian Polansky appointed David Barfield chief engineer of the Kansas Department of Agriculture's Division of Water Resources in November 2007.
Barfield is the fifth chief engineer to serve Kansas since the division's inception in 1927. Before his appointment, he served as acting chief engineer, succeeding David Pope, who retired after 24 years in the position.
In addition to leading the Division of Water Resources, Barfield represents Kansas on four interstate water compacts and the Western States Water Council. He also is an appointed member of the State Conservation Commission, is an ex officio member of the Kansas Water Authority, and he advises the Governor's Natural Resources Subcabinet. In 2007, Governor Kathleen Sebelius appointed Barfield to represent Kansas on the Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee and on the Missouri River Association of States and Tribes.
Barfield has worked for the Division of Water Resources since 1984. Between 1984 and 1987, he performed special studies to guide water management decisions; from 1987 to 1992 he served as head of the Dam Safety Unit; and, from 1992 to 2007 he led a technical team working on matters related to Kansas' interstate water issues, primarily involving disputes over the Republican, Arkansas and Missouri rivers.
Barfield graduated from the University of Kansas in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. Following graduation, he worked as a consultant in Minnesota for three years and then for three years as a water resources engineer in a developing nation in South Africa.
Barfield returned to school and earned a Master of Science in Water Resources Engineering in 1991, also from the University of Kansas.
Barfield and his wife, Cathy, have been married for 29 years, and they live in rural Douglas County. They have three grown daughters; two graduated from college in 2007 and the third is attending Washburn University.