Dam Safety Permits
Dam Owner Responsibility
It is the dam owner's responsibility to apply for the necessary permits. All dams are required to have a permit before construction, with the following exceptions:
If your dam is-
less than 25 feet in height, and impounds less than 50 acre-feet of water at the top of the dam, or is less than 6 feet in height, regardless of storage, then you will not need a dam permit. If your dam does not fall within these parameters, you might still need a permit for Stream Obstructions which is any project or structure constructed in a stream that does not meet the definition of a dam.
In Kansas, a stream is any watercourse that has a well-defined bed and well-defined banks and that has a watershed exceeding a certain number of acres in three zones. The chart below explains this further:
By state law, the Division of Water Resources is the permitting agent for water structures on all streams in Kansas. The safe operation of a dam proposed for construction is the primary consideration for DWR. The chief engineer approves the dam application, including the plans and specifications. An incomplete application will be returned to the applicant.
6-102 For dams only - Combined application for permit - obstructions in streams and appropriation of water for recreational use.
2-100 All others, including dams, stream obstructions and channel changes.
An application for a dam permit must be accompanied by the following:
Complete maps, plans, profiles and specifications.
Any other data and information that the chief engineer may require.
Required permit fee:
Pre-construction fee $200 OR
Construction in progress fee $500
Other permits may be required, including but not limited to:
1. Permit to Appropriate Water from the Water Appropriation Program
2. Construction permits from county and local government
3. Corps of Engineers 
Clean Water Act permit
Phone: 816-389-3990
4. Kansas Department of Health and Environment permit for stormwater run-off
Phone: 785-296-5545
Contact Information
Dam Safety Program
Kim Feldkamp, P.E.
Water Structures Engineer
109 SW 9th Street, 2nd Floor
Topeka, KS 66612-1283
(785) 296-4625 voice
(785) 296-4835 fax
waterstructures@kda.state.ks.us