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Kansas Water Office outlines 2026 request, highlights $6.3 million in governor enhancements
Summary
The Kansas Water Office presented its fiscal 2026 budget request to the Legislative Budget Committee, describing changes tied to House Bill 2302, new state water plan fund lines and the governor's recommended $6.3 million in enhancements for sediment management, planning and program evaluation.
The Kansas Water Office told the Legislative Budget Committee on an unspecified date that it expects major changes in fiscal year 2026 driven by new state water plan fund lines created after the 2023 Legislature and by House Bill 2302. Luke Drury, senior fiscal analyst with Legislative Research, told the committee: “These are 2 newer funds that were created by the 2023 legislature.”
The agency's policy and government relations manager, Victoria Ashberry, said the office is requesting 26 positions for fiscal year 2026 and summarized the office's two programs: Water Planning and Implementation and Public Water Supply. Ashberry told the committee Kansas Water Office work includes developing the state water plan and coordinating water resource operations across state and local agencies.
Why this matters: committee members pressed on how the new budget lines will be allocated and whether money was being double-counted across agencies. Chair Mosier and multiple representatives sought a single list of water-related enhancement requests across agencies so the committee can avoid overlap when considering appropriations.
Key items and amounts: Ashberry and staff highlighted that the governor recommended $6,300,000 in State Water Plan Fund enhancements for the Water Office, broken out in the presentation as $2,750,000 for water planning and project development, $3,000,000 for in-lake sediment management, and $550,000 for independent program accountability and evaluation. Ashberry said the in-lake sediment management initiative would pursue either a hydro-suction pilot at John Redmond Reservoir or feasibility studies and long-term sediment plans for reservoirs if suction is not feasible in the first year.
Staff-level adjustments and deletions: Drury noted the Legislative Budget Committee's global recommendation deleted two agency enhancement FTEs the Water Office requested (described in committee materials as a water resource planner and a water conservation support position). Drury also described one-time adjustments related to transfers the Water Office handled after HB 2302 added roughly $18 million in FY2024 state water plan fund revenue that the office passed through to other agencies; Ashberry said future years will show those funds directly appropriated to implementing agencies rather than routed through the Water Office.
Committee questions and next steps: Representatives asked about details of Corps of Engineers operation and maintenance cost estimates, whether specific sediment projects were previously discussed in Department of Agriculture materials, and how the proposed enhancements would be considered by this committee versus appropriations. Chair Mosier requested a consolidated list of each agency's water-related enhancement requests and amounts so the committee can evaluate overlaps before final appropriations.
Ending: The committee closed the Kansas Water Office hearing after questions and moved on to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
