DWR Currents
Week of February 1, 2010
Ag Department Introduces Groundbreaking Legislation in Water Policy
The Kansas Department of Agriculture introduced legislation last week to promote the voluntary conservation of water, marking a substantial shift in water policy from the previous half-century.
“In the past, water rights holders have been required to put to beneficial use their water right or risk losing the right to abandonment, which contributed to the notion of ‘use-it-or-lose-it.’ Today, we are asking the legislature to approve a statutory change that would recognize conservation as a beneficial use,” said Josh Svaty, Secretary of Agriculture. “The program would be voluntary, and would allow producers that wish to save water for future use or future generations to have that opportunity without risk of losing the property right they developed.”
Previously, if a water right holder wished to keep their water right but not pump water, he could enroll it in the Water Rights Conservation Program (WRCP), a temporary program which was suspended due budget shortfalls in the fall of 2009. “This is a solution for WRCP, but it also goes a significant step further,” said Svaty. “We are now recognizing conservation as a beneficial use of our water resource, and allowing producers to make a voluntary decision to change their water rights to conservation water rights for as long as they wish. Furthermore, we can manage this new system within our existing administrative resources, keeping fees static and solving the budget problem WRCP presented.”
The bill applies to all vested or perfected water rights statewide. The water right holder would apply to change all or a portion of the water right from its current use to a conservation right. If the water right holder wanted to use that water for a different purpose in the future, he or she would make a subsequent change application to the Division of Water Resources.
“Our water law has been historically focused on development and use of the resource,” said Svaty. “However, the development of our resource in Kansas is clearly mature, and it is time that we progress toward a system of management that allows producers wanting to conserve to have that opportunity.”
The bill was introduced in the Senate Agriculture Committee. The Revisor of Statutes is preparing the bill text and will assign a bill number. We anticipate the bill will be available this week. When the bill becomes available DWR will include a link to it from our home page at http://www.ksda.gov/dwr/
Legislative Issues
In addition to the water conservation bill described in the preceding article, the following water resources bills were introduced last week:
- HB 2565 (abandonment in a closed area) – This bill introduced by the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources would amend K.S.A. 82a-718 to stipulate that “...a groundwater right, which has as its local supply an aquifer area that has been closed to new appropriations by the chief engineer and where a well is lawfully maintained, shall be deemed to have due and sufficient cause for nonuse and shall not be deemed abandoned.” This is similar to a regulatory amendment currently proposed by DWR.
- HB 2567 (change of address and mailing notices) – This bill introduced by the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources would add a new section in the Kansas Water Appropriation Act, K.S.A. 82a-701 et seq., requiring owners of non-domestic water rights to notify the agency when there are changes in the owner’s name or mailing address. The bill would also amend K.S.A. 82a-714 and K.S.A. 82a-718 to replace certified mail requirements with first-class mail, postage prepaid requirements for agency notices to water right owners regarding deadlines to complete diversion works, deadlines to perfect water rights, and three successive years of reported nonuse of a water right. This bill would save over $8,600 annually in certified mail postage and the additional staff time to prepare certified mailings, based on more than 1,200 notices required to be sent by certified mail in 2010 under the existing statutes.
Hearings are scheduled on some water resources bills this week, including the following:
- HB 2493 (eliminates requirement for dam inspections): Monday, February 1 at 3:30 p.m. before the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources. Click here to view Kansas Department of Agriculture’s testimony.
- HB 2567 (change of address and mailing notices): Wednesday, February 3 at 3:30 p.m. before the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The text and status of bills is available on the 
Kansas Legislature’s website.
The Best Dam Conference in Kansas
The National Levee Program Committee, Georgia Floods of 2009 and the Mission Lake dredging project are featured general session topics February 8-10 at the Kansas Dam Safety Conference 2010 in Hutchinson.
Each year, the Division of Water Resources offers dam owners, engineers and other interested parties this opportunity to learn more about liability and the responsibilities that come with dam ownership. The conference is partially funded by FEMA dam safety grant and registration fees.
Nationally recognized professionals in the field of dam safety will present on topics such as risk mitigation, case studies and pipe design. Other conference highlights include luncheons and evening socials, as well as a field trip to the Wichita Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project.
A Stream Obstructions seminar and an Emergency Action Planning for Dams seminar will be held in conjunction with the conference.
A complete agenda and registration information are available on DWR’s website.
Proposed Water Appropriation Regulations
DWR is proposing adoption of several amended and one new administrative rules and regulations addressing 15 acre-feet exemptions in GMD 5 and GMD 2, and statewide requirements for impairment investigations, due and sufficient causes for nonuse, and water flowmeters.
Summary of the proposed regulations:
- GMD 5: 15 acre-feet exemptions (amended) – The proposed amendments change the conditions under which 15 acre-feet exemptions will be allowed within Big Bend Groundwater Management District No. 5 (GMD 5). Fifteen acre-feet exemptions in the Rattlesnake Creek, Arkansas River, Walnut Creek, Pawnee River and Buckner Creek Basins will require offsets. The regulation also sets the spacing of 15 acre-feet applications to one-mile within the entire District.
- GMD 2: 15 acre-feet exemptions (amended) – The proposed amendments change the conditions under which 15 acre-feet exemptions will be allowed within Equus Beds Groundwater Management District No. 2 (GMD2). The amendments will require that approval of a 15 acre-feet exemption not authorize more than 15 acre-feet when combined with another right or allow a 15 acre-feet exemption to be pumped through a common distribution system with another water right.
- Statewide: Impairment investigations (amended and new) – The proposed amendments and new section add requirements for non-domestic complainants to demonstrate that their well and pump system are adequate; provide a formal process for groundwater management districts to provide input and assistance for impairment investigations within their boundaries; more specifically detail the steps involved in impairment claims and investigations; and establish procedures for instances when impairment is found to result from regional lowering of the water table.
- Statewide: Due and sufficient cause for nonuse (amended) – The proposed amendments clarify the existing adequate moisture due and sufficient cause; add a new due and sufficient cause for water rights in closed areas; and require that most due and sufficient causes be conditional upon maintaining functional diversion works.
- Statewide: Water flowmeter specification and compliance (amended) – The proposed amendments change the conditions under which water meter seals will be required to be installed. Meter seals that make it impossible to alter the totalizer reading will be required unless parallel water records are kept.
Public hearings for these proposed regulations are scheduled on April 7 in Topeka with teleconference sites at Garden City, Halstead, Stafford, and Stockton.
The public notices, proposed regulations, economic impact statements and other information are available on DWR’s website.
Upcoming Events
Feb. 2: Mill Creek and Little Blue River Meter Orders public meeting at Washington
Feb. 3: Kansas Water Office-sponsored Water Issues Forum at Wichita
Feb. 4: Kansas Water Office-sponsored Water Issues Forum at Hays
Feb. 4-5: Kansas Natural Resources Conference at Wichita (Chief Engineer David Barfield will be one of the plenary session speakers)
Feb. 8-10: Kansas Dam Safety Conference at Hutchinson
Feb. 9: Verdigris River Meter Order public meeting at Altoona
Feb. 10: Stream Obstructions Seminar at Hutchinson
Feb. 10: EAP Seminar for Dam Safety at Hutchinson
Feb. 12: Residential Substantial Damage Estimation training at Emporia
Feb. 17: Basics of National Flood Insurance Program training at Topeka
For more information about these and other upcoming events, please check our events listings at www.ksda.gov/dwr/events.
