DWR Currents

September 22, 2010


Regulations in Process for GMD 5 AWEP and Meters
On September 20, 2010, Chief Engineer David Barfield and representatives of Big Bend Groundwater Management District No. 5 addressed the Kansas Legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and Regulations regarding proposed rule changes related to a water conservation program and well equipment criteria in the district.

The first proposed change relates to Kansas Administrative Regulation (K.A.R.) 5-3-23, which establishes the maximum reasonable annual quantity approvable for irrigation use associated with an application to change (reduce) the authorized place of use.  The proposed changes in this regulation are narrowly focused on facilitating GMD 5’s program to provide an incentive to remove end guns from center pivots within the Rattlesnake Creek subbasin in GMD 5 under their recently approved Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP).  

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) sponsors AWEP and, through that program, enters into partnership agreements with organizations that want to promote groundwater and surface water conservation or to improve water quality on agricultural lands.

The GMD 5 program uses federal AWEP and matching district funds to remove end guns from center pivot irrigation systems and correspondingly reduce the irrigated acreage on qualifying farmland.  End guns are considered the least efficient component of these irrigation systems.  In areas where there is not enough water to meet crop demands, removing end guns would likely result in applying more water with greater efficiency to the crops under the pivot.  But this would not save water.  However, in an area like Rattlesnake Creek, where there is enough water to satisfy crop needs, removing the end guns, and reducing the associated irrigated area, will reduce water use.

Right: An end gun on a center pivot irrigation system.  Click to enlarge image.

The second proposed regulatory amendment, in K.A.R. 5-25-5, will make the district’s well equipment criteria more consistent with statewide rules by removing superfluous check valve requirements.

The legislative committee posed a number of questions about the proposed changes, particularly with regard to the AWEP rule.  Per standard procedure the committee will send a letter to the agency noting any comments.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture has scheduled a public hearing for these regulations at 1:30 p.m. October 25, 2010, in Topeka.  The hearing notice, proposed regulatory changes and economic impact statements are posted on the agency website.  An online comment form is also available.


Equus Beds Aquifer Model Being Developed
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Water Resources, Equus Beds Groundwater Management District No. 2 and the City of Wichita, is building a groundwater model of the Equus Beds aquifer in south-central Kansas.  This modeling effort will help quantify the operations of the City of Wichita’s aquifer storage and recovery project and will also enable the city and other agencies to more accurately monitor the transport of chlorides – salty water generated from past oil recovery operations and also occurring naturally in the Arkansas River.  It may be used for other purposes including refining estimates of the region’s safe yield for purposes of granting new appropriations.   

Right: Map of the Equus Beds Aquifer Model boundary, courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey.  Click to enlarge image.

This effort represents the third generation of groundwater models in the area.  In 1995 the USGS built a groundwater model of the Equus Beds aquifer between Hutchinson and Wichita.  The 1995 model looked at both groundwater flow and chemical interaction between the Arkansas River and the Equus Beds aquifer.

In 2007, the City of Wichita contracted with the engineering firm Burns & McDonnell to build an accounting model for the ASR project.  This accounting model was based on the 1995 USGS model and used the same underlying assumptions and aquifer properties.  In essence, the accounting model was a variation of the 1995 model; focusing on quantifying the amounts of storage and recovery so that ASR project accounting could be properly reported.

In 2008, USGS proposed to update the accounting model to incorporate newly available data on aquifer characteristics, water-level and streamflow gage measurements, and to add the ability to simulate chloride (salt) transport.  USGS found that the 1995 model had several fundamental problems that make it inadequate for ASR accounting and chloride transport simulation and ultimately decided to build an entirely new model.  In 2010, DWR, GMD 2 and the Kansas Geological Survey began collaborating with USGS to work through the technical underpinnings of the model.

Such collaboration and real-time peer review have proven very successful in developing technically sound groundwater models throughout the state.  But perhaps the greater benefit of these collaborations is the ultimate level of understanding and acceptance among stakeholders involved in the modeling process.  By being involved in the process and contributing their own expertise, the collaborators develop trust in the model and in one another.  The process leads to a robust model that becomes a very valuable decision-making tool and also to stronger working relationships among collaborators.

The new Equus Beds aquifer model is expected to be complete in fall 2011.


Meet the Staff: Andrew Lyon
This month we interviewed Andrew Lyon, environmental scientist in the Basin Management Team within DWR’s Water Management Services program. 

Lyon is stationed in the Topeka main office.  His primary responsibility is to analyze groundwater systems using computerized hydrologic models.  The results of these analyses inform water resources management decisions.

Lyon has worked for the Division of Water Resources since 2007.

Andy, please tell us about your background.

I grew up on my family’s ranch near Emporia and went to Emporia High School.  I then attended Kansas State University, where I received a bachelor’s degree in agriculture in 2004.  I moved on to Oklahoma State University, where I received a master’s degree in environmental science in 2006.  My wife, Sarah, and I met while we were both graduate students at OSU, and we just celebrated our first wedding anniversary.

What led to your job at DWR?

I was involved with research in watershed modeling and statistical analysis in graduate school and was exposed to groundwater modeling.  I believed that accepting a job in groundwater modeling and data analysis was a great opportunity to continue to learn about hydrologic analysis and to help me become a well-rounded scientist.  Also, I was happy to get back to Kansas after being an Okie for a few years.

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

The Basin Management Team has undergone some dramatic changes in the three years I have been with DWR.  We have transitioned from having a very specific protocol when analyzing a particular basin to our current role, which is to apply innovative thinking in combination with our technical expertise to provide the data analysis needed to make policy decisions.  While this transition has not always been easy, we are settling into this new role and working hard to expand our capabilities to answer difficult questions with sound data analysis.

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

I primarily work on modeling projects throughout the state.  Many of the modeling projects that have recently been completed have used a process that includes stakeholders during model construction, and this requires a great deal of coordination.  No two model construction processes are the same, so there are many different techniques and mountains of data to review for each model.

Once a model has been constructed, we conduct model runs that simulate future scenarios or conditions that help us evaluate possible management strategies.  This is often an iterative process where one model run answers questions, but also brings up new questions that require another model run.  We are currently making model runs on the Ozark model and the GMD 5 model has just been completed.  In the future, nearly all the major groundwater use areas in Kansas will have an associated groundwater model to help manage groundwater in those areas.

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

I really like that no two days are ever the same.  I enjoy finding new and innovative ways to analyze and present data so that we can increase understanding and acceptance of model results.  I also like the team approach that we employ.  We are able to use each individual’s strengths to produce the best work possible.

If there is one thing I could change, I would like to get out in the field more often.  I enjoy being outdoors and being able to see and touch the areas that we work on.  It helps me to be out there and visualize the issues that our work is trying to address.

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

Most of my public interaction is not with the general public, but with stakeholder groups like the groundwater management districts, basin advisory committees, and other state and federal agencies.  Working with these groups can be challenging, but more often than not it goes very well.  Each stakeholder in a modeling process has certain interests that they are looking to protect, whereas our interest is to produce a tool that is as useful as possible for all groups involved.  Working collaboratively with these groups requires a great deal of coordination.  I also enjoy getting out and giving presentations on modeling to stakeholder groups, because it is a great way to help them increase their understanding and acceptance of model results.

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

Most of the questions I hear deal with modeling.  While models are complex, they are not the black box some people make them out to be.  As Chief Engineer Barfield likes to say, models are really just a water calculator where water-in equals water-out.  I often have to interpret water budgets and other forms of model output for others to understand.  I think it is important that we use model results to their maximum extent, and not let valuable information slip away due to its format or the terminology used.

Do you have any humorous anecdotes about your job?

Not long after I started at DWR, I gave a “groundwater modeling 101” presentation at a basin team retreat.  I included a funny slide called the “Groundwater Protector” that was designed to get kids thinking about groundwater.  It really made no sense at all, but it has become a pretty good running joke for everyone who has seen it.  How a giant robot that scares ducks protects groundwater beats the heck out of me.

Tell us something surprising or unusual about yourself.

During college I spent a summer as a research assistant in northern Alaska.  I was camping in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and got pretty close to a musk ox.  He didn’t like that too much and chased me for awhile.  After all the bulls that have chased me over the years, I wasn’t about to let a musk ox run me down.  I tell people that I am the only Kansan to have been chased by a wild musk ox, so if you know someone else who has, let me know and I’ll stop making that claim.


Web Updates: Water Statutes, Meter Info, History of Water Laws
The following updates reflect the agency’s commitment to providing updated, relevant information through our website:

• Several water statutes were recently updated to reflect amendments from the past legislative session.  Updated statutes posted on the agency website include the Kansas Water Appropriation Act, Water Transfer Act, Groundwater Management District Act, Rural Water Districts Act, Obstructions in Streams Act, and Administrative Matters.  Apart from the new due and sufficient cause for closed areas added in the Kansas Water Appropriation Act, and procedural changes in the Rural Water District Act, the rest of the updates appear related to updated references to the Kansas Administrative Procedures Act or the Kansas Judicial Review Act.

• The list of certified flowmeters was updated last week to add Sensus accuMag models.  Flowmeters on the list have been certified by their manufacturers to be in compliance with the Kansas specifications for water flowmeters in the administrative regulations under the Kansas Water Appropriation Act.

• A guidance document on how to read water flowmeter displays was updated and added to the website.  This document has been distributed in the past on the inside cover of flowmeter record booklets.  Since flowmeter displays vary, with differing units of measurement and multipliers, accurate water use reporting depends on understanding the basics outlined in this document.

• Newly added scanned versions of several historical documents provide insights into several water laws in Kansas:

• A 1941 report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture related to “Dams on Dry Watercourses” outlines the Kansas Water Storage Law of 1941, which provides a tax incentive for constructing small impoundments on dry watercourses.  The bulletin was designed to provide guidance on site selection, design plans and specifications for constructing these structures, as well as some words on maintenance.

Right: Sketch of a cross section of a small dam from the 1941 report.  Click to enlarge image.

• A 1942 report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture related to “Diversion and Appropriation of Water to Beneficial Use” serves as a digest of key laws at the time.  It describes change in the way water appropriations came to be filed in a state system rather than a county system established in previous laws; governance of the Kansas Water Commission and formation of the Division of Water Resources; and laws that affirmed seminal principles, such as the rights of water use for domestic purposes and the abandonment of unexercised water rights without due and sufficient cause.  Included in the pamphlet are summaries of several court rulings, including some that wrestled with the integration of riparian and prior appropriation water rights.  This pamphlet provides a fascinating glimpse at the laws immediately preceding and leading to the Kansas Water Appropriation Act of 1945.

• A 1951 report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture related to “Levees and Channel Changes” provides an overview of the relevant laws amended in 1951, interpretation of the laws based in part on court decisions, and procedures for obtaining permits.  An example in the report shows channel changes that bypassed oxbows in the Delaware River.

• A 1955 report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture related to “Water: Its Appropriation for Beneficial Use” charts the changes in water appropriation law from the 1917 formation of DWR through the 1945 Kansas Water Appropriation Act.  In addition to the latter act, it also lists other pertinent laws governing the damming of rivers, flowage rights to waterworks system intakes, and the notion of “residue of waters” (return flows).  The pamphlet includes an example application for permit to appropriate water for beneficial use that is in many ways similar to the form used today.

Upcoming Events

• October 12: GMD 2 Board Meeting (Halstead)
• October 12: GMD 5 Board Meeting (Stafford)
• October 13: GMD 3 Board Meeting (Garden City)
• December 1: Basics of the National Flood Insurance Program Training (Hiawatha)

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