DWR Currents

March 9, 2011

Governor Proclaims March 13-19 Flood Awareness Week
Modeling Enables Determination on Complex Applications in NW Kansas
Legislative Update: A Full Week
Weir Installed above HorseThief Reservoir to Measure Inflows
Upcoming Events

Governor Proclaims March 13-19 Flood Awareness Week
Governor Sam Brownback has issued a proclamationThe preceding link will open in a new browser tab or window. making March 13-19, 2011, Flood Safety Awareness Week in Kansas.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service has named March 14-18, 2011,   Flood Safety Awareness Week.Flooding of the Verdigris River overtopping U.S. Highway 160 east of Independence on June 30, 2007. Photo courtesy of IndyKansas.com.

What is so important about flood safety awareness that there needs to be a special proclamation?  The Kansas Hazard Mitigation PlanThe preceding link will open in a new browser tab or window. prepared by Kansas Division of Emergency Management ranks flooding as the hazard with the highest risk factor in Kansas – higher than the risk factors for tornados, other storms, and other types of disasters.

Right: Flooding of the Verdigris River overtopping U.S. Highway 160 east of Independence on June 30, 2007.  Photo courtesy of IndyKansas.com.

According to the National Climatic Data Center Storm Events database, there were 2,050 flood events in Kansas between 1996 and 2009.  Total property and crop damage for these events is estimated at $465 million.  There were 21 deaths and 24 injuries related to these flood events.  This suggests that Kansas experiences an average of 157 floods, $35 million in flood losses, 2 flood-related deaths, and 2 flood-related injuries each year.

Kansas experienced one death from flooding in 2007, two flood-related deaths in 2008, and four flood deaths in 2009.  Every one of those deaths could have been prevented.  The biggest cause of death was people driving into flood waters.

In 2010 we finally were able to have a year without flood related deaths in Kansas.  It would be wonderful to also have no deaths from flooding in 2011.  DWR’s Floodplain Management Team is encouraging community officials to use Flood Safety Awareness Week to educate the public and keep citizens safe from floods.

DWR is responsible for coordinating the National Flood Insurance Program in Kansas.  The chief engineer also regulates stream modifications and floodplain fills to protect public safety and prevent property damage.  As part of our public safety role we provide technical assistance to communities to help them develop floodplain management ordinances and meet other requirements of the program.

In addition to disseminating flood safety information to community officials, we’ve created a new Flood Safety web page to educate the public about this hazard and how to stay safe.  The webpage features flood safety tips in English and in Spanish, and flood safety pictures by school children in Emporia.  Additional content is planned.

We urge everyone to join us in making 2011 a year without flood related deaths.  Please remember the following tips to protect yourself and your property.

FLOOD SAFETY TIPS

  1. Do not walk through flowing water.  Six inches of moving water is enough to knock you off your feet
  2. Do not drive through a flooded area.  Two feet of water will carry away most cars. One foot of water can displace 1,500 pounds of weight.  If a car weighs less than 1,500 pounds it could be floated by a foot of water.
  3. Stay away from downed power lines and also electrical lines in your own home.  Electrical current can travel through water.
  4. Watch for animals and snakes.  Small animals that have been flooded out of their homes may seek shelter in your home.
  5. Watch your step.  After a flood the ground is covered with debris including broken glass and sharp objects just below the mud.  Wet or muddy steps can be slippery.
  6. Use a flashlight to check for gas leaks.  Soapy water on gas lines will reveal leaks as soap bubbles form.  Don’t use candles or smoke until you are certain there are no gas leaks.
  7. Have an evacuation plan for yourself and family members.  Choose a route and a meeting place.
  8. Prepare an emergency kit in a portable container.  Make it small enough to grab quickly and go.  Suggested items for such a kit include portable radio, flashlight, spare batteries, spare car keys, spare pair of glasses, prescription medication, nonperishable food items, bottled water, first aid kit, blanket, list of important numbers, and copies of important papers.
  9. Shut off utilities beforehand.  Make sure family members know how to shut off gas at the meter and power at the breaker box.
  10. Consider buying flood insurance for your home.  Normally, there is a 30-day waiting period before policies go into effect.

Modeling Enables Determination on Complex Applications in NW Kansas
After much analysis, DWR staff have developed a methodology to determine the extent to which groundwater appropriation applications in northwest Kansas could potentially affect baseflows to streams.  The method uses the Republican River Compact Administration (RRCA) Groundwater Model (which includes some of the upper Solomon River and Smoky Hill River basins) to define when those impacts meet the Map showing the location of 16 applications in northwest Kansas to be processed under this recently developed method. Three applications in Phillips County are in close proximity resulting in overlapping map symbols.regulatory criterion of “a substantial hydraulic connection to an alluvium.”  This complex determination paves the way to complete processing of 16 pending applications in a way that protects senior water rights and avoids future compact compliance problems.

Right: A map showing the location of 16 applications in northwest Kansas to be processed under this recently developed method.  Three applications in Phillips County are in close proximity resulting in overlapping map symbols. (Click to enlarge map.)

The RRCA Groundwater Model was developed as part of the 2003 settlement in Kansas v. Nebraska and Colorado to determine the impacts that each state’s groundwater pumping has on streamflows in the Republican River and its tributaries.  Those groundwater pumping impacts as determined by the model are combined with measurements of surface water use to account for all of the water in the basin used by each of Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska.  Ultimately, this use determines a state’s compliance with the compact.

In order to determine the impacts of the new groundwater applications on streamflows, a point of reference or “baseline” was needed.  The baseline scenario for these evaluations is a modeled simulation of what Republican River basin streamflows look like during the next 50 years if no new applications were approved.  Then, for each of the pending applications, the model was run to simulate streamflows during the next 50 years if the application was approved.  The impacts of an application on streamflow are then the difference in streamflows between the baseline future and the simulation that includes the application’s pumping.

Why was a 50-year evaluation necessary?  Groundwater pumping impacts to streamflow tend to increase over time in areas where pumping exceeds recharge.  In keeping with the terms of the compact and the intent of the state’s safe yield regulations, it was decided that an application that causes an average impact of 10 or more acre-feet per year in 50 years represents a “substantial hydraulic connection” and cannot be approved.


Legislative Update: A Full Week
Legislative committees are conducting hearings on several water resources bills this week including:

  • Kansas State CapitolSB 122 (conservation easements in navigable rivers)
  • SB 124 (Lower Smoky access district)
  • SB 191 (water rights conservation program)
  • HB 2357 (Arkansas River gaging fund)

Budget hearings are also underway.

A water resources bill summary on our website provides links to 14 bills being tracked by DWR, along with a brief description of each bill and its status.

KDA testimony on bills, as well as KDA reports and presentations to the legislature, are also available on the agency website.


Weir Installed above HorseThief Reservoir to Measure Inflows
Pawnee Watershed District has completed construction of a weir to measure inflows into HorseThief Reservoir.  The rate of inflow is important for proper operation of the reservoir, including adjustments to the rate of water releases from the reservoir.

The weir was necessary because this readily accessible location at the upper end of the reservoir will frequently have standing water.  A regular streamgage – which relies on a correlation between changes in water elevations and flow rates – would not have accurately The v-notch weir above HorseThief Reservoir allows operators to accurately measure small inflows which are important in determining releases from the reservoir to sustain downstream water uses.measured small rates of inflow in this setting.  The operations planThe preceding link will open in a new browser tab or window. for HorseThief contains a required release schedule that hinges on inflows being greater than or less than 2 cubic feet per second.

Right: The v-notch weir above HorseThief Reservoir allows operators to accurately measure small inflows which are important in determining releases from the reservoir to sustain downstream water uses.

The U.S. Geological Survey instrumented this weir and operates it as   USGS Station 07140880.  Real-time flow data for this location is available through USGS’s website allowing the reservoir operator and others to check flow conditions from their computer.

Except for a few brief deviations, inflows to HorseThief Reservoir have been between 2 to 3 cubic feet per second and outflows have been between 0.5 to 2 cubic feet per second since the beginning of 2011.  The current water surface elevation is about 2,410 feet.  Based on a capacity table and graphThe preceding link will open in a new browser tab or window. in the design plan this correlates to about 2,360 acre-feet stored in the reservoir and a water surface area of about 218 acres.  At full capacity (not including flood storage) the water surface area would be about 450 acres and the storage would be about 6,230 acre-feet.  By volume the lake is about two-fifths full at present.


Upcoming Events

  • Mar. 9: GMD 3 Annual Meeting (Ulysses)
  • Mar. 10: GMD 5 Board Meeting (Stafford)
  • Mar. 15: GMD 1 Board Meeting (Scott City)
  • Mar. 15: GMD 1 Annual Meeting (Scott City)
  • Mar. 16: Public Hearing (Topeka) on proposed rule changes to close GMD 1 and add a due and sufficient cause for nonuse of water

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

Kansas Department of Agriculture