The Lower Smoky Hill Water Supply Access District on June 23 reviewed draft 2026 budget figures it received from the Kansas Water Office and authorized publication of the notice of the public hearing scheduled for July 14, 2025. The board voted to approve the minutes of its Feb. 24 meeting and then approved a motion to publish the 2026 budget notice after finance staff summarized the proposed budget.

Finance director Debbie Pack said the 2026 proposed budget totals $112,563 in revenue and expenditures, a reduction from the adopted 2025 total of $221,834. Pack said operating-and-maintenance (O&M) and administrative-and-engineering (A&E) line items can fluctuate year to year based on Kansas Water Office estimates; the irrigators’ pool cost for 2026 was listed at $53,947 in the draft.

Board members also discussed a substantial tree-and-debris deposit that has formed downstream of Kanopolis Lake following recent high flows. Staff said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is offering technical input and that the district had engaged a contractor to survey the debris with a drone and produce cost estimates for removal options. Board members discussed trade-offs — removing large volumes from the bank vs. the channel, burning in place vs. mechanical removal, and risk of downstream damage if debris is released during a subsequent flood — and directed staff to continue collecting options and cost estimates.

Action: The board voted to approve publication of the public-hearing notice for the 2026 budget (public hearing set for July 14, 2025). Staff will present a final budget for adoption at that public hearing.