DWR Currents

August 2, 2010


50th Annual Meeting of Republican River Compact Administration set for Aug 12
The Republican River Compact Administration will conduct its 50th annual meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday, August 12, at the Burlington Community and Education Center, 340 South 14th Street, Burlington, Colorado.

The RRCA Engineering Committee will meet at 2 p.m. the preceding day, Wednesday, August 11, for its annual work session.

Both meetings are open to the public.

Meeting times may change depending on the agenda, which is not available yet.

When it is available, the agenda and any updates to the meeting information will be posted to DWR’s Republican River Compact website.  Additional details are available on DWR’s Events listing.

Right: Republican River in Clay County, Kansas (photo courtesy of Kansas Geological Survey).

The RRCA is comprised of three commissioners — one official from each state who is charged with administering water resources — and their staffs.  Kansas’ commissioner is David Barfield, chief engineer of the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Water Resources.  Colorado’s commissioner is the state engineer who heads their Division of Water Resources in the Department of Natural Resources.  Nebraska’s commissioner is director of their Department of Natural Resources.

According to the RRCA’s first annual report from 1960 (printed in 1961), “although the Republican River Compact became effective on May 26, 1943, it was not until July 15, 1959, that the officials responsible for its administration established a formal organization for that purpose, designating it the ‘Republican River Compact Administration.’”  The inaugural meetings of the RRCA were in 1959 and 1960 in each of the member state capitals: July 15, 1959, in Denver, Colorado; November 19, 1959, in Topeka, Kansas; and March 30, 1960, in Lincoln, Nebraska.  The 1960 meeting was considered the first annual meeting of the RRCA, so this year is the 50th meeting.


DWR Benefits from Geologic Maps and Helps Set Mapping Priorities
A new geologic map of Finney County was recently issued by the Kansas Geological Survey.  It is the latest in a series of county maps depicting the bedrock surface below the layers of soil and vegetation.  These geologic maps are useful for a variety of purposes, including managing groundwater resources.

Members of the Kansas Geological Mapping Advisory Committee help KGS identify specific areas of high priority for the STATEMAP Geologic Mapping Program in Kansas.  The committee considers several factors in initially identifying areas of interest, and ultimately in ranking these areas for mapping and funding priority.  These factors include concerns for groundwater availability and quality, areas of significant groundwater declines, conflicting land-use issues related to rapid population growth, expanding transportation infrastructure and potential geologic hazards.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Water Resources, along with several other state agencies and individuals, are represented on the advisory committee that typically meets twice a year.

Right upper: Digital version of the new (2010) Finney County geologic map.  Click to enlarge.  Note the 3-D shading effects.

Right lower: Digital version of the previous (1993) Finney County geologic map.  Click to enlarge.  Images courtesy of Kansas Geological Survey.

Mapping projects that are currently ongoing or planned include Reno, McPherson, Harvey, Morris, Haskell, Jefferson and Atchison counties.  Funding comes, in part, from the U.S. Geological Survey's National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, which provided KGS with $221,000 for 2010.

Geologic maps can provide information on the delineation and development of aggregate resources and other industrial minerals, groundwater quality and contamination concerns, geologic hazards, and land management planning.  For DWR, the maps are especially relevant in evaluating the occurrence of confining units, the discontinuous nature of some aquifers and possible hydraulic connections between aquifers.  DWR depends on updated geological information to ensure that the state’s water resources are properly managed and regulated.

The KGS Cartographic Services Unit is producing maps using advanced techniques that give them a 3-D appearance.  This shaded relief makes physical features on the map easier to discern and interpret.

More information about this subject is available on KGS’s County Geologic Maps website.


KDA Accepts Credit Card Payments
To give our customers more options, the Kansas Department of Agriculture now accepts payments by major credit cards, including Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover.  Previously only Discover was accepted.

Individuals may complete the credit card payment form and submit it in person, by mail, by fax, or by email.  Visitors to department’s home office in downtown Topeka also have the option of running their credit card through a card scanner on the third floor of the agency’s offices in the Mills Building at 109 SW 9th Street, in lieu of filling out the credit card payment form.

Credit card payments are subject to a 2.5 percent processing fee.  That means for a $200 filing fee there would be a $5 credit card charge.  

The agency still accepts payments by cash, check, or money order.  Those methods of payment are not subject to the 2.5 percent processing fee.

While faxed or emailed credit card payments will be accepted, DWR requires original signatures on application forms, such as for new permits or changes to existing water rights.  Therefore, application payments are usually submitted in person or by mail.  However, faxed or emailed credit card payments may be an ideal option in other instances, such as for paying penalties for late water use reports or other reasons.

The credit card payment form is accessible in the Document Center of DWR’s website, or directly at this link.


Staff News: Jessica Darrah, Summer Intern
Since the end of May, Jessica Lynn Darrah has been helping to improve DWR’s Water Structures Inventory database.  Her efforts will help other staff access information related to specific dams.

Working from a list of dams with incomplete information, Darrah reviews old records on microfilm to add information into the Water Structures Inventory database.  Possible informational needs, Darrah said, include a dam’s elevation, area, storage, discharge, antecedent moisture condition adjustment‎, drawdown, and spillway size or type.  

Having this updated information in the database increases efficiency and effectiveness for engineers reviewing permit applications, investigating complaints, or addressing deficient dams.  It also can be shared – with appropriate restrictions – with owners, government agencies and the public.

In mid-August, Darrah will return to her nursing studies at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa.  (Go Vikings!)


Upcoming Events

• August 4: Small Dam Owners Seminar (Salina)
• August 4-5: Kansas Water Authority Meeting (Paola)
• August 10: GMD 2 Board Meeting (Halstead)
• August 11: Small Dam Owners Seminar (Westmoreland)
• August 11: GMD 3 Board Meeting (Garden City)
• August 12: Republican River Compact Annual Meeting (Burlington, Colorado)
• August 12: GMD 4 Board Meeting (Colby)
• August 12: GMD 5 Board Meeting (Stafford)
• August 25: Small Dam Owners Seminar (Eureka)

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