Middle Arkansas River Subbasin Project Status
The chief engineer approved the Middle Arkansas Working Group's Middle Arkansas Management Strategies January 2004. The group encourages water users in the subbasin to conserve at least 10 percent of average water use from 1988 to 2000. In addition, it is recommended that water users submit a voluntary conservation plan to the Division of Water Resources documenting participation.
Division of Water Resources staff is preparing recommendations for regulatory options in the subbasin. The voluntary management strategies only address approximately 14,000 acre-feet of the water shortage in the subbasin. There is an estimated acre-feet amount needed to stabilize ground water levels and provide a baseflow component in the Arkansas River. The Division of Water Resources is currently working on a waterflow model to calculate aquifer charactertistics. Kansas Geological Survey is constructing a ground water model in the Middle Arkansas subbasin as a management tool. The model was completed on December 31, 2005.
The Middle Arkansas Subbasin Newsletter was created July 2004 to educate and correspond with the water right holders on the water issues in the subbasin. The newsletter goes out quarterly with the main focus on education, conservation and other related agricultural information. Middle Arkansas Subbasin Newsletters are now available online.
Middle Arkansas Subbasin Information
Location: South Central Kansas
Counties: Stafford, Edwards, Barton, Pawnee, Rush and Rice
Basin Size: Approximately 781,455 acres
Streams: Arkansas River, Dry Walnut Creek, Ash Creek, Coon Creek, Pickle (Pickeral) Creek
Water Appropriated: ** 258,147 acre-feet
Number of Water Rights: **1483
Number of Points of Diversion: **1836
Authorized Acres: **187,464
Resource Concerns: Declining streamflow and ground water levels.
USGS Gaging Stations: Kinsley (since 1945), Great Bend (since 1941), Larned (since 1998)
Groundwater Management Districts: Big Bend Groundwater Management District #5
**Amounts subject to change, water right information is dynamic in nature.