DWR Currents
Week of January 4, 2010
Upcoming Events
Jan. 14: Chief Engineer to GMD 4 board meeting at Colby
Jan. 21-22: State Association of Kansas Watersheds annual meeting at Topeka
Jan. 27-28: Kansas Water Authority meeting at Topeka
Feb. 3: Water Issues Forum at Wichita
Feb. 4: Water Issues Forum at Hays
Feb. 4-5: Kansas Natural Resources Conference at Wichita
Feb. 8-10: Kansas Dam Safety Conference at Hutchinson
Feb. 10: Stream Obstructions Seminar at Hutchinson
Feb. 10: Emergency Action Planning for Dams Seminar at Hutchinson
For more information about these and other upcoming events, please check our events listings at www.ksda.gov/dwr/events.
Water Use Reports Due March 1
DWR will mail water use report forms to water users during the week of January 4, 2010. Reports reflecting water use during 2009 (total water use from January 1 to December 31, 2009), must be returned to the office of the chief engineer by March 1, 2010. A total of 10,565 irrigation reports will be mailed this year. An additional 3,200 reports will be mailed for all other uses.
Any question regarding completion of water use reports may be directed to DWR field office staff or to DWR headquarters’ staff by calling (785) 296-1054.
A water use data collection fact sheet is also available with general information about the water use reporting system.
Due to budget cuts and staff reductions, the online water use reporting project has been put on hold.
Minimum Desirable Streamflows: A Retrospective and Forecast
It has now been over two years since minimum desirable streamflows (MDS) were administered in Kansas. Administration of MDS means that water rights and permits to appropriate water with priority dates after April 12, 1984, are required to cease, or significantly limit, diversion of water because they impact streamflows on streams for which MDS target flows have been established and those targets have not been met for seven consecutive days.
The period from 2002 through the first half of 2007 was a dry period for many parts of Kansas; streamflows for many streams dropped below MDS targets and remained below those targets. The Republican River was the first stream to undergo administration, beginning on May 7, 2002, and it was also the last to come out of administration on June 26, 2007. Many other streams were also administered for shorter durations during that period. All of the following streams were administered at least twice during that period, with the beginning and ending dates of administration varying somewhat from stream to stream: Big Blue River, Little Blue River, Delaware River, Neosho River, Smoky Hill River, Solomon River, Little Arkansas River, Saline River, Spring River, Chapman Creek, and Mill Creek (in Wabaunsee County). The Solomon River, for example, was administered once in 2003, 2004 and 2007, and twice in 2005 and 2006.
The number of water rights and permits administered also varied greatly from stream to stream. The Republican River had by far the most rights and permits administered with 184. The Delaware River only had one water right administered. Several dozen rights and permits were administered in the Neosho and Solomon River basins, about a dozen in the Little Arkansas River and Mill Creek basins, and generally about half a dozen each in the other basins.
During the period 2002 through 2007, particularly for the Republican River, it seemed as though administration might not ever be ceased. Fortunately, timely and adequate rains brought relief to all of the streams by the end of June 2007. There have been times since on several streams, including the Republican River, where the criteria for initiation of MDS administration seemed imminent, but each time either timely rain occurred or the MDS value dropped as we moved from one month to the next.
What are the prospects for the future? No one has a crystal ball which can accurately predict when streamflows will fall below the MDS targets and the criteria for initiation of MDS administration will be met. DWR staff continually monitor streamflows on the streams for which MDS targets have been established by law (K.S.A. 82a-703c). In addition, National Weather Service forecasts for precipitation, both short- and long-term, are regularly checked. Groundwater levels for a series of seven monitoring wells in the Republican River valley are also checked in order to determine trends. For the Republican River, two charts (one for the Concordia gage and the other for the Clay Center gage) are updated on a weekly basis on DWR’s website to track the daily flows, MDS target values, and the other criteria for initiation of MDS administration for the Republican River. DWR does not normally update the charts during wintertime when icing renders streamgage data unreliable. Water users can check the DWR website and see for themselves how flows and initiation criteria are tracking in order to judge for themselves what the prospects for administration might be, at least in the short-term. Links to the U.S. Geological Survey’s website for real time streamflow data for the streams for which MDS targets have been established are also provided.
