DWR Currents
Week of January 18, 2010
Meter Orders
This month DWR issued meter orders for water rights in the Verdigris River basin, Mill Creek basin, and the Little Blue River basin. Altogether these orders apply to 365 water rights.
DWR will be conducting public meetings related to these orders. A meeting on the Mill Creek and Little Blue orders will be held February 2 at 6:30 p.m., at the First National Bank, 101 C Street, in Washington, Kansas. A meeting on the Verdigris orders will be conducted February 9 at 6:30 p.m., at the Altoona-Midway Elementary School at 833 River Street in Altoona, Kansas.
This is part of a multi-year effort to meter (or otherwise precisely measure) all non-domestic, significant water use in the state. Currently over half of all water right diversions in Kansas are metered, and DWR continues to work toward the goal of having all non-exempt diversions metered.
Accurate measurements of water use are important for demonstrating compliance with water rights. It also provides data required by interstate compacts and used to manage the state’s water resources.
DWR recently completed inspections and documentation related to the Fall River meter order issued last year. Of 30 water rights affected by the order, 12 are now in compliance with state regulations. DWR is following up to resolve the other 18 cases.
More information about these and other meter orders is posted on DWR’s website at http://www.ksda.gov/appropriation/content/274. A map of Kansas river basins is available here 
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Web Conferencing
For several years DWR has been using web conferencing coupled with teleconferencing to conduct meetings and conferences with participants at remote locations. This is an efficient way for a group of people to edit documents or view information while avoiding travel costs.
Until recently, DWR used a web conferencing service called Glance. We recently transitioned to a web conferencing service called RHUB, which has reduced the cost and provided more functionality.
Web conferencing makes it easy for DWR to review and finalize documents with out-of-state experts who assist us with interstate compacts and computer modeling of stream-aquifer systems. It also facilitates communication between headquarters and field office staff.
The avoided travel cost more than offsets the cost of the web conferencing service. In addition to the cost savings, web conferencing also enables us to conduct meetings with remote participants more quickly and efficiently.
Upcoming Events
Jan. 21-22: State Association of Kansas Watersheds annual meeting at Topeka
Jan. 27-28: Kansas Water Authority meeting at Topeka
Feb. 2: Meter order public meeting at Washington
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. 9: Meter order public meeting at Altoona
Feb. 10: Stream Obstructions Seminar at Hutchinson
For more information about these and other upcoming events, please check our events listings at www.ksda.gov/dwr/events.
