GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT INNOVATIONS IN THE KANSAS HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER

The Kansas High Plains aquifer, which comprises approximately 17.5% of the entire High Plains aquifer area spanning eight states from South Dakota to Texas, continues to decline threatening the long-term viability of the region’s irrigation-based economy. Although accumulating hydrologic stresses and competing demands on groundwater resources are making groundwater management increasingly complex, they are also leading to innovative approaches to the management of groundwater supplies, and some of those are highlighted in this presentation as good examples for emulation in the rest of the High Plains and other states in managing groundwater resources. The innovations highlighted here are 1) the Kansas annual groundwater-level monitoring program, 2) the water use reporting in Kansas, 3) the Kansas Intensive Groundwater Use Control Area (IGUCA) policy, 4) the Kansas Groundwater Management Districts’ “safe yield” policies, 5) Wichita’s aquifer storage and recovery program, and 6) Dodge City’s treated wastewater irrigation project. Additional innovative approaches are needed to further extend the life of the Kansas High Plains aquifer. Incorporating the innovative aspects of groundwater management from Kansas and other states into a regional groundwater-management approach would appreciably enhance the sustainability of this precious groundwater resource.