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Kansas water officials urge continued funding for reservoir restoration, aquifer conservation
Summary
State water office presenters and the Kansas Water Authority outlined priorities including pilots to dredge reservoirs, incentives to reduce Ogallala pumping, and a recommendation to pay off remaining Milford and Perry reservoir storage debt to lock in state control; pilot sampling showed no downstream water-quality exceedances.
Connie Owens, presenting the Kansas Water Plan, told the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources that the plan’s five guiding principles focus on conserving the High Plains (Ogallala) aquifer, securing and restoring state reservoirs, improving water quality, reducing vulnerability to extreme events, and expanding public education and outreach.
"Tuttle Creek that is now half filled with sediment, half," Owens said, illustrating the scale of reservoir loss and the urgency for restoration and new tools. She described a partnership pilot with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers using water-injection dredging at Tuttle Creek: three 10‑day dredging sessions are planned, and initial sampling "did move sediment as designed" and…
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