Kansas Water Office Projects

South Fork Republican River Basin Projects
Implement water conservation projects, water use efficiency upgrades, water management plans by water right holders, and cost-share programs within the South Fork Republican River Basin within Kansas.

Kansas Reservoir Protection Initiative
The initiative is to protect water supply storage and improve water quality in reservoirs across Kansas. Landowners in eligible watersheds interested in participating in the Kansas Reservoir Protection Initiative can contact their respective County Conservation District or local Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) Project Coordinator.

Lower Republican River Projects
Improve water supply during dry periods along the Lower Republican River and convert portions of the remaining open irrigation canal systems to buried pipe system within the Kansas Bostwick Irrigation District.

Milford Lake Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP)
Nutrient runoff within the Milford Lake watershed in Kansas is a source of nutrient loading contributing to aquatic conditions which promote formation of harmful algal blooms (HAB) within Milford Lake. This RCPP project would look to implement best management practices within the Milford Lake watershed to decrease nutrient runoff, thus decreasing the introduction of new nutrient loading contributing to the formation of HABs in Milford Lake.

Sheridan 6 LEMA Economic Analysis
In order to extend the economic life of the aquifer and maintain the economic base of the region, water conservation alternatives are being evaluated. Economic analyses is being conducted on the Sheridan 6 LEMA to estimate the impacts to producers, the regional economy and hydrologic impacts to the Ogallala aquifer associated within the LEMA.

Sediment Monitoring Strategy
To put tools in place, such as sediment monitoring gages, bathymetric surveys, and sediment coring to monitor sediment entering water supply reservoirs and to evaluate the benefits of sedimentation reduction practices.

USDA Crop Insurance - Limited Irrigation
To provide a crop insurance program that will cover producers who want to conserve water by reducing their irrigation water usage.

Water Conservation Project Fund
To use a portion of the damages received from Colorado for violation of the Kansas-Colorado Arkansas River Compact for the benefit of the area impacted caused by overuse of the Arkansas River water by Colorado.

Wetland Program
Increase the knowledge base about Kansas’ wetland systems through surveying, monitoring, research, and assessment to establish wetland conditions, identify trends, and the causes and sources affecting wetland change.

Streambank Stabilization Projects
A key component in the reduction of sediment entering our water supply reservoirs. Efforts are currently being concentrated in three high priority watersheds.

Kansas River Reservoirs Flood and Sediment Study
Cooperatively investigate water resource problems and opportunities in the Kansas River Basin and recommend comprehensive, long- term solutions.

Kansas River Water Quality
The United States Geological Survey has partnered on a 5 year study on the Kansas River with specific objectives to provide an advanced real-time notification system with sufficient lead time to alert water-managers of changing water supply quality conditions that may affect treatment processes or cause taste-and-odor or algal toxin events.

Public Water Supply System Portal
The Kansas Water Office (KWO) Public Water Supply (PWS) Portal was developed to update the PWS membership contact information and PWS Systems Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database.

Lower Missouri River - Public Assistance to States
To investigate conceptual measures and strategies to lessen flood risk vulnerability to damages and improve flood risk resilience for the future.

Groundwater Model Maintenance Program/GMD 2/Equus Beds Model
Maintenance of hydrologic models provides allows for improving the understanding of the High Plains aquifer through the addition of current data and linkage of the separate models. Water use, water levels and climatic data provides the basis to evaluate the amount of water in storage as well as the effects of various water resource management techniques and programs. This allows the examination of solutions to conserve and extend the life of the aquifer with estimations of the impact of possible water management scenarios.

Index Well Program
The index well program is designed for developing improved approaches for measuring and interpreting hydrologic responses at the local (section to township) scale in the High Plains aquifer (HPA) in western and south-central Kansas. Index well data is used to calibrate annual manual water level measurements for improved assessment of the High Plains aquifer. A major focus of the program has been the development of criteria or methods to evaluate the effectiveness of management strategies at the local scale. Changes in water level—or the rate at which the water level is changing—are considered the most direct and unequivocal measures of the impact of management strategies.

KCC Abandoned Well Plugging
In 1996, the Legislature created the Abandoned Well Plugging and Site Remediation Fund. The legislation established an annual reporting procedure whereby the Kansas Corporation Commission accounts for the number of abandoned wells in Kansas, the funds available to plug abandoned wells, and the multiyear plan for addressing abandoned wells by creating a prioritization schedule.

Stream Gaging Network
Support the continuous monitoring of streamflows on key streams and rivers in Kansas; where in the information serves multiple purposes, public and private entities, and the general public.

Water Innovation Systems and Education (WISE)
Existing water technology efforts have grown into a new comprehensive Water Innovation Systems and Education (WISE) initiative. The program is a public/private partnership program that focuses on fostering the implementation of field practices, technology and management strategies for industrial, agricultural and municipal water applications; with the goal resulting in measurable and scalable ground water conservation, improved water quality and overall soil and ecological health. The program is an expansion of our legacy Water Technology Farm and PACE Farm programs, and includes the development of a state-wide Master Irrigator and innovative farm cost-share program.

Water Research Coordination Workgroup
The 50-Year Vision for the Future of Water Supply in Kansas and the regional advisory committee action plans identify several research areas necessary to implement Vision action items.

Equus Beds Chloride Plume Project
Characterize groundwater contamination extent in the aquifer and investigate feasible remediation options.

John Redmond Dredging
In 2012, the state of Kansas started the planning process to conduct a large-scale dredging project to restore water supply storage at John Redmond Reservoir. This project represents the first of its kind in the nation with a non-federal entity dredging sediment from a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) reservoir for the purpose of insuring water supply storage.

Kanopolis Reallocation
Pursue reallocation of two- foot of flood pool to conservation pool and purchase as water supply storage. To increase available water supply and water supply storage within the Smoky Hill-Saline Regional Planning Area and ensure water supply available from reservoir storage exceeds demand by at least 10% through the year 2060.

Melvern Reallocation & Pomona, Melvern, Hillsdale Minimum Releases
A comprehensive system approach will be used to increase water supply and drought tolerance. Conservation is one solution to consider. Municipal water suppliers in the Marais des Cygnes River basin have adopted conservation plans that reduce consumption during drought in addition to looking at more ways to efficiently manage their reservoir system as another water savings.

Playa Lake Recharge Evaluation
To evaluate if recharge from playas occurs over the Ogallala and if so, how much. Virtually all the research to this point on playa infiltration and groundwater recharge has been done on the Southern Plains (Texas), where the geology is significantly different.

Produced Water Evaluation
Evaluate the reuse of produced oil field water for irrigation or stockwater.

Tuttle Creek Sediment Studies
Technical and economic analysis and modeling of reservoir sediment management opportunities for Tuttle Creek Lake continues in support of the state of Kansas Reservoir Sustainability Initiative.

Water Injection Dredging (WID) Study & Demonstration at Tuttle Creek Lake
Demonstration to evaluate the potential of Water Injection Dredging (WID) to address sedimentation issues and sustain long-term water supply storage at Tuttle Creek Lake, as well as other Kansas reservoirs.