DWR Currents

May 18, 2010


Regulations Update
The following regulations were recently amended and become effective May 21, 2010:

• K.A.R. 5-1-4, Water flowmeter specifications and K.A.R. 5-1-9, Criteria to determine when a water flowmeter is out of compliance: Amendments exempt water flowmeters in systems authorized for municipal use from the meter seal requirements if an accurate record of water use can be determined by readings from one or more alternate water flowmeters in the same diversion works or distribution system.

• K.A.R. 5-7-1, Due and sufficient cause for nonuse: Amendments clarify the existing adequate moisture criteria, add criteria for areas closed by regulation or order of the chief engineer, and require maintenance of functional diversion works for most due and sufficient causes.

• K.A.R. 5-17-2, Application deadlines to deposit a water right into a water bank or withdraw a deposit: Amendments change the deposit application deadline from December 31 of the preceding year to April 1 of the year in which the deposit will be made.

• K.A.R. 5-25-15, Exemptions for up to 15 acre-feet of groundwater [in GMD 5]: Amendments require offsets for 15 acre-feet exemptions in designated stream basins and one-mile spacing between 15 acre-feet exemptions throughout the district.

These amended regulations are available on DWR’s website.

As previously reported, K.A.R. 5-22-7, Safe yield [in GMD 2] was amended effective May 14, 2010.  Amendments prohibit exemptions in combination with nondomestic water rights if the combined total would exceed 15 acre-feet, or if the amount pumped through a common distribution system would exceed 15 acre-feet.  This amended regulation is also available on DWR’s website.

The following regulations are in the process of being amended or developed:

• K.A.R. 5-4-1, Distribution of water between users where a prior right is being impaired: Proposed amendments will:
  • Require persons filing groundwater impairment claims to demonstrate that their well and pump system are adequate.
  • Establish a formal process for GMDs to provide input and assistance for impairment investigations within their boundaries
  • More specifically detail the steps involved in impairment claims and investigations.
  • New section 5-4-1a will establish procedures for impairment resulting from regional lowering of the water table.

Chief Engineer David Barfield and other DWR staff are considering public comments received at the April hearing.

• Obstruction in Streams Regulations (K.A.R. 5-40-1 thru 5-40-106; 5-41-1 thru 5-42-5; 5-43-1 thru 5-43-5; and 5-46-1 thru 5-46-4): We are drafting amendments to update, clarify and streamline the criteria for approval of stream alterations (except for provisions applicable only to dams, which were updated in 2008).  We plan to hold stakeholder meetings later this year to discuss the draft changes; however, at this time meetings have not been scheduled.

Western States Workshop a Success
DWR hosted the Association of Western State Engineers spring workshop May 11 and 12 in Wichita.  This annual event is an opportunity for water resources officials from the western U.S. to exchange ideas and information about water management programs.

Host duties annually rotate among the 19 member states.  Kansas last hosted this event in the early 1990s.

Right: Workshop attendees toured the Wichita aquifer storage and recovery project.

Sixteen people from nine states (including five from Kansas) attended the workshop in person, and another dozen or so from five states attended via teleconference and webcast.  These were good attendance numbers in this time of drastically reduced state budgets and travel restrictions.

The workshop included panel discussions on regulatory hearings, monitoring consumptive use of water, water rights for wetlands, and rainwater use; roundtable discussions to exchange information on water resources issues from each of the states; and a field trip to the Wichita aquifer storage and recovery project.

AWSE was formed in 1928 and has been continuously active through present day.  Association membership includes the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.  AWSE members are state engineers or other officials charged with administering the laws governing appropriation, distribution or control of the water resources of each state.

Chief Engineer David Barfield is Kansas’ member in AWSE, and he currently serves as vice president of the organization.

The association’s purposes are:

• To formulate broad principles applicable to the member states for the development, use, control and regulation of state waters.

• To assist one another in the solution of individual problems through the exchange of ideas and experiences.

• To cooperate in preserving the states’ inherent right to develop, use, control and distribute the water thereof and to facilitate discussion of interstate water problems.

• To enhance the beneficial and efficient use of water by encouraging the improvement and perfection of the laws relating thereto and by other proper means.

• To circulate among members such information as may be helpful in the discharge of their official duties.

Water Exhibit at Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library
“H2O Kansas: Discover Our Ecosystems” is an annual art and science exhibit currently in its ninth year at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library.  The exhibit runs May 7 through June 18.

Photographs, paintings and prints depict the changing Kansas River, historic flooding in Topeka, man’s impact on nature, and the vast scale and power of our rivers.  Children can explore life on the Kaw through a full-scale diorama of the Kansas River ecosystem.

Retired DWR employee Will Gilliland, a member of the Topeka Gem and Mineral Society, contributed specimens for the exhibit and has installed a DWR poster about water use in Kansas in the exhibit.


Lake McKinney About Half Full
In the April 13 Currents, we reported on the progress of improvements at Lake McKinney, the reservoir in Kearny County, Kansas, used to store Arkansas River flows for irrigation by the Great Eastern Ditch Company in Kearny and Finney counties.  Today we are providing an update on conditions at Lake McKinney.

In April it was estimated that the lake would be filled in about 30 days if the net inflows continued at a rate around 100 cubic feet per second.  However, the inflows have diminished and some water is being released to the irrigation ditch.  At present, it is estimated the lake is about half full, storing around 1,800 acre-feet.

Right: Lake McKinney on May 5, 2010. (Click to enlarge image.)

With an estimated surface area of nearly 1,000 acres and estimated storage volume of nearly 4,000 acre-feet at full capacity, Lake McKinney is one of the largest lakes in southwest Kansas.  And it is now only about one-third its original size in the early 1900s.  More information about the fascinating history of this lake is available in a presentation available on DWR’s history website.


Meet the Staff: Mike Meyer
This month we interviewed Mike Meyer, water commissioner of the Garden City field office, which covers southwest Kansas.

Meyer and his staff are responsible for inspecting water diversion works and places of use; compliance and enforcement of water appropriation permits and water rights; administering junior water rights that impair senior water rights; helping applicants and water right holders; and other duties under the Kansas Water Appropriation Act.  Meyer is also involved in Arkansas River Compact work.

Meyer has worked for the Division of Water Resources since 1992.

Mike, please tell us about your background.

I am originally from Garden City, Kansas.  I went to Kansas State University after two years at the Garden City Community College.  I obtained a bachelor’s degree in geology.  Immediately after graduating I was offered a temporary job with the Division of Water Resources in Topeka.  After that six-month job was over, two days later I started with the Division of Water Resources at Garden City as a technician.  I went on to become water commissioner of the Garden City field office in 2005.

I have a wife, who originally is from the Garden City area, and four kids.

What led to your job at DWR?

A job with DWR was my first opportunity for employment after college.  The job notice was pointed out to me by my professor at KSU.  He described the benefits for working for the State of Kansas and my interests were in a field that dealt with environmental issues especially concerning water.  It was an opportunity to get my “foot in the door,” even though it was a temporary job.

It was also a way to gain knowledge and experience concerning water issues that I was concerned about.  Being from southwest Kansas, where there is basically no surface water except flows in the Upper Arkansas River, it was disappointing that we did not have a constant river flow to enjoy.

I also worked at a farm in high school that utilized groundwater to irrigate and that caught my attention and fascination.

What was it like when you started at DWR?  What are some noticeable changes since those days?

Since my first employment after college was in Topeka, I was not used to the business atmosphere with cubicles and a desk job.  It was very professional and a whole new world that I was not aware of concerning “water.”

At that time, the goal was to eliminate permitting backlogs, and that continued throughout my first 10 years with DWR.  Now the focus is on how to conserve and regulate the resources through compliance and enforcement.

Other noticeable changes are the reduction in staff since that time, with the positive side being that state government has become more efficient.

In your own words describe your job.  What are some specific projects you’re working on?

My job consists of the oversight responsibility for administering the Kansas Water Appropriation Act and supervising the distribution of waters within the field office area, which includes 17 counties in southwest Kansas.  I also currently supervise eight employees who carry out this mission of the agency.

Some main projects that I am currently working on are:

• Compliance and enforcement concerning all aspects of water rights.
• Groundwater impairments and other groundwater areas of concern that are being monitored frequently.
• Compliance investigations that mostly concern water flowmeter installations and ensuring accuracy and proper function.
• Working with staff to monitor Colorado’s compliance with the Arkansas River Compact.

What do you like about your job?  What would you change if you could?

I like working in the field office where we have daily interaction with water users.  It is nice to see the proposal of a project and then the final result.  For example, in the past we assisted an applicant who had an idea for putting water to beneficial use and now we are issuing a water right certificate to document the realization of that goal.  A current example is a proposal from an irrigator wanting to sell his water right to a nearby city – we assist with the application and, once approved and completed, we conduct a compliance investigation on the finished project in its new form.

The field office setting allows a person to investigate in the field, if needed, or process orders in the office to achieve compliance or goals, real-time.

Since I am a native to southwest Kansas, I have a true desire to protect the resources and ensure that there is water available for this area in the future to ensure there is water for people to use, to live off of, or to make a living from.  I have challenged myself and my staff to have a real desire to protect this resource from abuse and find ways to communicate with producers to stay in compliance with their water right conditions.

I enjoy that the daily tasks are never the same – there always is a new puzzle to solve or a new question to answer from producers.  As I always tell producers and landowners, I learn something new every day about water rights.

How often do you interact with the public, and in what ways?

I basically interact with the public in person, through written correspondence every day and some by telephone and email.  The office in Garden City is known to help customers daily, which is a large part of our daily activities and, over the years, we have built a reputation of having good, longstanding relationships with many water users.

What are some frequently asked questions you hear, and your answers to these questions?

“How much water do we have left?”  Of course the answer to this question is depends on what area the inquirer is asking about.  The High Plains aquifer that basically covers our entire field office area varies dramatically.  No one can predict the future, but if we do our job we may have some opportunity improve the outcome.

“When is the state going to cut back on water allocations?”  I always answer this question basically explaining that it depends on what the future brings – what problems arise in a localized area – but something is bound to happen in the future if the static water level declines persist.

“Did you bring your bullet-proof vest?”  Do I need one…?

Do you have any humorous anecdotes about your job?

Several years ago, we had a former employee who did not like giving his business card to producers.  Other staff would carry some of this employee’s business cards with them to hand out to anyone who asked for one.  Customer service at its best!  Later, a large producer in southwest Kansas obtained this employee’s business card and enlarged it to poster size. He displayed it in the entrance of his business for all neighboring customers to view when they entered his business office.

Another story is from several years ago. I was investigating an impairment concern in the southeastern part of our field office area.  Our goal was to do a reconnaissance in the area of concern for any existing water well to document water levels.  These wells were in the form of old domestic wells at abandoned farmhouses, well pits, and so on.  As warned by the landowners, I encountered several rattlesnakes and was haunted by them at the end of the day.  The next day I was in another part of our field office area doing some investigations, and I came across a sculpture out in the middle of nowhere, made out of 55-gallon barrels welded together, probably 15 feet high, in the form of a rattlesnake.  Someone had too much time on their hands.


Upcoming Events
•    May 18: GMD 1 Board Meeting (Scott City)
•    May 19: Big Blue River Compact Annual Meeting (Beatrice, Nebraska)
•    May 27: REAP Regional Water Conference (El Dorado)
•    June 3: GMD 4 Board Meeting (Colby)
•    June 8: GMD 2 Board Meeting (Halstead)

For more information about these and other upcoming events, please check our online events listings.