Former transportation secretary outlines 10‑year Kansas water plan framework and funding scenarios

Julie Lorenz, former Kansas secretary of transportation, briefed the House Appropriations Committee on a proposed implementation framework to move the 2022 Kansas Water Plan from strategy to funded projects and regional pipelines.

Lorenz said the plan sets a long‑term “50‑year water supply” goal and proposes a dynamic, rolling 10‑year program that would be reviewed regularly and tied to measurable outcomes. “A community without a plan is a bad investment,” she told the committee, saying communities and potential investors need predictable planning and prioritization to guide projects and spending.

The nut graph: Lorenz recommended a two‑year ramp‑up period for agencies to build capacity and an independent evaluation structure, then a rolling program evaluated and renewed every 10 years. She offered three funding scenarios—stand pat (approximate base funding cited as $60 million annually), a mid‑level “move‑the‑needle” scenario (~$120 million per year), and a “game changer” (~$360 million per year)—and said public input and stakeholder work led to a proposed middle option of about $140 million per year.

Lorenz outlined eight priority recommendations including: (1) pursue a multigenerational goal of 50 years of water supply for Kansans; (2) develop regional project pipelines with prioritized feasibility work; (3) redesign grants with clearer incentives and guardrails so state support buys measurable outcomes; (4) streamline overlapping state water programs across multiple agencies; (5) create a public dashboard and “no wrong door” information system; (6) strengthen federal coordination and cost‑share; (7) add independent evaluation of program effectiveness; and (8) form a legislative task force to finalize program structure and funding sources.

She described state and local problems the framework is meant to address: aquifers in western Kansas with declining supplies, reservoirs on the eastern side filling with sediment, and more than 100 communities that had 25 years or less of supply at current pumping rates. The public engagement effort for the framework included more than 1,500 Kansans and more than 50 stakeholder meetings; Lorenz said stakeholders supported a multi‑year ramp and clear metrics before full additional funding was distributed to agencies.

Lorenz recommended pilot regional planning efforts, independent evaluation of programs, and clearer criteria for prioritizing grant dollars. She described examples of possible outcomes that scale with funding—for example, expanding septic repair and private well testing from a small number of counties under a base budget to more than 50 counties over 10 years if additional funding is approved.

Committee members asked about funding sources and sequencing. Lorenz said the report lists possible revenue ideas—including sales tax increments and fee reforms—but that identifying a specific dedicated funding source would be a legislative policy choice. She recommended keeping existing near‑term investments that have already been appropriated while the task force and ramp‑up evaluation proceed, and prioritized keeping an independent evaluation requirement so agencies “earn” additional funding by meeting outcomes.

Representatives also pressed for attention to western Kansas priorities such as aquifer conservation and irrigation‑efficiency incentives. Lorenz said the framework includes outcomes for conservation audits and uptake of irrigation technologies and that grant cost‑share structures could be designed to reward measurable reductions in water use rather than simply subsidizing new equipment.

Lorenz described the framework as intentionally scalable and flexible. She said agencies would have a two‑year window (2025–27 in the framework) to improve program administration and prepare outcome metrics; the full ten‑year prioritization and funding schedule would then be renewed on a rolling basis. She urged the committee to form a legislative task force to decide funding sources and guardrails before the program moves to full implementation.

Lorenz closed by citing public interest and stakeholder engagement and by urging timely legislative action on task‑force formation, independent evaluation and regional pilot projects.