DWR Currents

July 20, 2010


Update: Ark River Compact Call Ends
On Sunday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made a gate adjustment at John Martin Reservoir, near Hasty, Colorado, ending a month-long release of water to Kansas.

The Associated Ditches in southwest Kansas had called for the release of water on June 17.  The Arkansas River Compact grants a portion of the reservoir storage for use in Kansas.  See June 21 Currents for more background information.

The “compact call” ended this week, on July 18, as Kansas’ storage accounts were exhausted.

Right: Hydrograph showing the reduction in release rate from John Martin Reservoir on July 18 (image courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey, click to enlarge).

During the past month, about 650 cubic feet per second (cfs) was delivered to the state line and diverted by the Frontier, Amazon, Great Eastern, South Side and Farmers ditches in Kansas for irrigation.

Just as it took a few days for the increased flow to reach Kansas back in June, the river flow will diminish in response to the reservoir gate adjustment.  As of Tuesday morning, July 20, the state-line flow had dropped to about 410 cfs.  Typical state-line flows this time of year are about 100 cfs to 150 cfs.


Case Files: Meter Tampering and the Revocation of a Water Right
[Editor’s note: We are introducing a new column about violations of water resources laws and the penalties that can result.  We anticipate running this type of article at least several times per year.]

Early in the 2000 irrigation season, DWR’s Stockton field office received a telephone call from the staff at Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 4 regarding a flowmeter installed on a water right under their inspection.  During a routine compliance inspection of a water conservation plan required by GMD 4, they discovered the flowmeter had been installed backward and the register was running in reverse.

DWR staff arrived at the well site shortly after the telephone conversation with GMD 4 and confirmed that the meter was in fact installed backward on the well and running in reverse.  An initial file review indicated the same meter had been observed by DWR staff during a 1998 field inspection, so staff concluded the meter had not been replaced.  DWR staff took a number of photographs, sealed the meter in place and notified the water right owner of the violation.  The owner was directed to stop diverting water at that time.  DWR staff also directed the landowner to have the meter serviced by a qualified repair service and provide the division with their finding.

Right: Example of a water flowmeter register showing flow rate in gallons per minute and quantity pumped in acre-feet.

A review of the water right revealed that it had been approved with a water conservation plan largely because the applicant had asked for a full quarter center pivot system with only 80 acre-feet available in the safe-yield analysis.  In other words, the amount of water available was much less than that normally considered reasonable for the proposed use.

Several days later, another inspection found that the seal installed by DWR staff had been removed and the meter had been reinstalled in the proper direction.  DWR staff responded with another type of seal using a chain and wire snap seal.

In response to yet another change in the meter operation, GMD 4 staff issued an order directing the owner to furnish the GMD 4 office with a biweekly water use report from that time forward.  The owner was allowed to continue operating the well for the remaining 2000 irrigation season, but only under very strict monitoring.

In 2001, the GMD 4 board requested that the chief engineer hold a hearing to dismiss the water right for failure to comply with the terms, limitations and conditions of the water right approval.  Further, the owner had not complied with the GMD 4 request to file biweekly water use reports or to submit a repair report on the meter in question.  In the interim, the owner had also filed another application asking for the same considerations as the suspect file.  This application was filed in anticipation that the suspect application might be dismissed.  The current owner’s application was also filed just prior to another application filed for 80 acre-feet in the same area.

On October 25, 2001, a hearing was conducted before then-Chief Engineer David Pope.  Important testimony was provided by an authorized service representative of the meter manufacturer.  The manufacturer’s representative testified that the 8-inch flowmeter appeared have a 6-inch propeller that had subsequently been manually ground down.  The resulting propeller imbalance led to extensive bearing damage and a finding that the meter could not be repaired.  Therefore, the manufacturer refused to certify its accuracy.  The owner offered only that 2000 was a very dry summer, and he was not the only water right holder overpumping a water right.  He further argued that his cattle must have damaged the flowmeter.  However, under cross-examination, he admitted that no cattle had been pastured on this land during the period in question.

Subsequent to the hearing, the chief engineer found the owner’s disregard for the water conservation plan limit on planting corn to one-half the center pivot had resulted in a need for more water than had been approved.  He also found the owner’s reasons for disregarding the conditions of the water right and the water conservation plan were not compelling.  Finally, he found the owner’s testimony regarding the damage by livestock was unfounded.

The order of the chief engineer held that the owner had violated the terms, conditions and limitations of the Approval of Application and Permit to Proceed under Appropriation of Water File No. 41,609.  Therefore, on February 22, 2002, after due consideration, Appropriation of Water File No. 41,609 was revoked.

This was the first action taken by the Division of Water Resources to revoke an appropriation of water for violations of the conditions of approval.  Actions taken in this case by DWR and GMD 4 led to the development of K.S.A. 82a-737 and subsequent regulation K.A.R. 5-14-10, giving the division more flexibility to deal with violations of water right conditions.

More information about water flowmeters is available on DWR’s Flowmeters website.


Meet the Staff: Jim Bagley
This month we interviewed Jim Bagley, professional civil engineer and supervisor of DWR’s Technical Services Section, in the Water Management Services program.

Bagley and his staff are responsible for a wide variety of analytical and procedural tasks, including impairment investigations, water flowmeter certifications, water conservation plan reviews, analysis of complex water right applications, database queries and maintenance, and other services.

Bagley has worked for the Division of Water Resources since 1977.  At this time, he has the longest tenure of any current DWR employee.

Jim, please tell us about your background.

I grew up in Manhattan, Kansas.  I have a degree in nuclear engineering from Kansas State University.  After I graduated in 1972, I spent three and a half years in the Air Force, the first 10 months of which I spent taking 39 credit hours of meteorology courses at San Jose State University.  I worked as a weather forecaster for the balance of my Air Force career.  When I got out of the Air Force, I went to work for the evapotranspiration lab at KSU.  My work at the lab involved using infrared satellite imagery to estimate evapotranspiration from fields.  I earned a master’s degree in water resources engineering in 1991 from the University of Kansas.  I have been a licensed engineer in Kansas since 1981.

What led to your job at DWR?

I was looking for other work when DWR had a job opening for a hydrologist.  I interviewed and got the job in September 1977.

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

I remember on my first day of work thinking that I would not be at DWR very long as I was learning to process new applications for water rights and it seemed to be just a lot of paperwork.  There were very few written policies, procedures or rules in those days.  We also did not have a computer system.  All of the basic water right information was captured on visual index (VI) cards and locations of points of diversion were hand plotted on maps with the maps grouped in separate books by county.  In 1980 we implemented a mainframe computer water rights database [Water Rights Information System, or WRIS], but maps were still plotted by hand.  In the mid-1980s, we obtained our first microcomputers (as they were known then).  With those we were able to do word processing, which greatly improved our capability to take care of all the permits, certificates and correspondence.  We were also able to perform hydrologic calculations and analyses much more efficiently.  In the late 1980s and early 1990s, we got our first geographic information systems software and hardware, which made it possible to plot points of diversion electronically and eventually led to doing away with hand-plotted maps.  In the mid-1990s, WRIS was migrated to an Oracle relational database and PC’s were used to access, update and query WRIS.

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

My job entails a variety of things, which helps make it interesting.  I am involved in projects related to improving and enhancing WRIS.  My role is to do the data modeling.  I handle all of the requests from water flow meter manufacturers to certify that their meters meet the specifications of the chief engineer and make recommendations to the chief engineer as to whether to include them on the list of certified water flowmeters.  I review draft reports pertaining to impairment complaints where well-to-well interaction is involved.  I provide technical staff support to the chief engineer in matters related to intensive groundwater use control areas, complex water right or change applications, and unique projects such as Wichita’s aquifer storage and recovery project.  I prepare the master tables in WRIS, which are used each year to generate the water use report forms.  I monitor streams for which minimum desirable streamflows (MDS) have been established and coordinate with the water commissioners and the chief engineer about when to initiate or cease administration of water rights junior to the MDS priority date of April 12, 1984.  I have responsibilities related to the Central Kansas Water Bank Association, especially as it relates to the annual accounting and development and revision of rules and regulations related to water banks.  I perform some of the “ad hoc” queries of WRIS necessary to satisfy some of the more complicated open records requests.

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

I like the variety of tasks.  Some of these present technical challenges, which I like.  I like the people I work with.  We have a good group of dedicated staff here.  I would like to see some of the staff restored that were lost due to budget cuts.  This would especially help with matters related to water flowmeters.

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

I deal with the public from time to time when questions come up about water flowmeters.  Sometimes I communicate directly with someone making an open records request to clarify what he or she really needs.

Do you have any humorous anecdotes about your job?

A few years ago I used to get several calls a month from individuals calling about their city water bills.  Apparently they called for directory assistance and were referred to our office.  After several of these calls I had the number to the Topeka Water Department memorized so I could refer them to the appropriate place to resolve their problems.

Tell us something unusual about yourself.

I play guitar and keyboard in a local band.  We only perform a few times a year, but it’s a very enjoyable hobby for me.

Is there anything we didn’t ask that you think would be appropriate to note?

I have been married for 22 years and my wife, Dayla, and I have five children ages 14 to 20.


Upcoming Events

• July 20: GMD 1 Board Meeting (Scott City)
• July 21: Small Dam Owners Seminar (Olathe)
• July 27-28: National Watershed Coalition Operations & Maintenance Workshop (Mayetta)
• July 28: Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact Annual Meeting (Arkansas City)
• August 4: Small Dam Owners Seminar (Salina)
• August 4-5: Kansas Water Authority Meeting (Paola)

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