NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — As part of the larger discussion of long-term water policy for the state, the Kansas House passed a bill prior to turnaround to require additional accountability from the state's groundwater management districts.
"There are five groundwater managment districts," said Republican Rep. Kenny Titus, a water lawyer and member of the House Water Committee. "You have two of them that sort of border Reno County. GMD 5 in Stafford and GMD 2 in Halstead. They are all different and they are all doing different things. Some of them, over time, have done a lot more than others when it comes to reducing groundwater use, but basically, what this plan says, it gives the districts a specific mandate to develop plans and identify their worst areas. What are the highest priority areas, with the largest declines in groundwater. Then, they are directed to go out, talk to the locals and develop a plan to address that, so that we don't just mine that groundwater until it's gone."
A representative of the GMD board would be required to appear before a legislative committee, if requested. The deadline for the report each year is Jan. 31.
"If no action is taken, then the chief engineer is given some authority to step in and sort of move that planning process along," Titus said. "The important part of that is, it gives the locals every opportunity to step up and decide how they want to manage this resource going forward."
One thing some of the districts have already done is establish Local Enhanced Management Areas (LEMAs) with the chief engineer of the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources.
"They set up a five-year plan," Titus said. "You can reduce water use, and your use is flexible from year to year, so if you save water at the beginning, you know it will be available at the end. They have varying levels of cuts based on how drastic the declines in groundwater level have been."
Titus said, once conservation is on the mind of all landowners, LEMAs seem to work.
"That's been my experience, looking at data at the state," Titus said. "People always set conservative goals. Once they really start paying attention to their water use and maybe changing their cropping patterns a little bit, we see revenue stay the same, but the amount of water used decreases dramatically. We see good signs where we can engage people."
The legislation requiring a plan does not require LEMAs to be implemented, but gives flexibility to the local districts. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, but does not, as of March 3, have a scheduled hearing date.
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