Missouri Regional Advisory Committee

Current Focus Area

Accurately assess the quality and quantity of available groundwater and determine safe yields to assure future water availability. Much of the groundwater in the Missouri Region is in unconnected glacial aquifers and difficult to access for the entire region.

Guiding Principles

Over the next 50 years, there needs to be an adequate, sustainable and affordable quality water supply in the Missouri Region, while protecting Tribal water rights and sacred and cultural sites. All government agencies, local through state, shall vigorously uphold and enforce all water conservation and management rules and regulations throughout the state. Assure any future water transfers from the Missouri River be based upon the protection of the priority of water supplies in the Missouri region, protection of private property rights, protection of cultural and heritage sites and consideration of environmental impacts. Ensure any beneficiary of transferred water would have exhausted all other alternatives, including crop types, irrigation practices and all other appropriate conservation measures.

About the RAC

RAC Planner: Amelia Lane

The Missouri RAC has members representing all water users, including public water supply, municipal, agricultural, industrial, and the public at large. View a full list of the Missouri Regional Advisory Committee Membership.

The Missouri RAC has four previously approved goals and action plans covering important issues across the region. Read the Missouri Action Plan. Reference recently approved goals and action plan by the Kansas Water Authority for inclusion within the draft State Water Plan for the Missouri and other regional planning areas.

The Missouri River is the longest tributary of the Mississippi River and the longest river in the United States. The Missouri River defines the state's border for 121 miles in northeast Kansas, making the Missouri RAC the only region to address issues related to the "Mighty MO." During the 20th century, the Missouri River Basin was extensively developed for irrigation and flood control. The Kansas River is one of many major tributaries of the Missouri River.

State of the Resource

The State of the Resource document for the Missouri Region is highlighted by the information from the Phase I study that the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) completed in 2017. Maps for bedrock elevation and unconsolidated thickness providing some information as to how much groundwater is available in the region has been developed. There have also been study's that looked at groundwater quality as well as degradation of the Missouri River bed.

To learn more about these important issues, visit the State of the Resource page to view the report.

Missouri Fact Sheet

Regional Activities

Missouri RAC members are continuing to monitor the groundwater project, now in Phase II, in the region. The Kansas Geological Survey has located 10 U.S. Geological Survey wells and is collecting data from those, while concurrently working with water suppliers to collect additional data on nitrate levels in water supplies. The RAC is also supporting the Doniphan County Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), which was ceremoniously signed on October 25, 2018.

Finally, the RAC is actively pursuing the establishment of a Water Quality Technology Farm in the region. A local producer has been contacted, and a meeting is planned with the Precision Agriculture program at Highland Community College to explore potential collaboration on the project.

Meeting Notes and Presentations