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Kansas Department of Agriculture asks lawmakers for State Water Plan fund boosts for dam rehab, irrigation and conservation district aid
Summary
At a legislative budget hearing, Legislative Research and Secretary Mike Beam outlined Department of Agriculture requests including $2.7 million for watershed dam rehabilitation, $1.7 million to restore a 2:1 conservation district match and state funds to leverage up to $25 million in federal irrigation upgrades; members pressed the department on reappropriations and staffing implications.
The Kansas Department of Agriculture told a legislative budget committee that it needs added State Water Plan and general‑fund support to repair aging dams, expand irrigation modernization, and restore conservation district aid.
Luke Drury, senior fiscal analyst with Legislative Research, said the department requested $2,700,000 from the State Water Plan Fund to assist rehabilitation of roughly 20 high‑hazard and significant‑hazard watershed dams every two years and requested $1,700,000 for aid to conservation districts so the department can resume a 2:1 state match that the 2025 Legislature authorized under Senate Bill 36. Drury said the department estimates the dam funding would support inspections and rehabilitation work for about 10 dams per year.
The request also includes $950,000 in State Water Plan Fund for irrigation‑technology upgrades (raising the line to $3,500,000) tied to a pending federal High Plains Aquifer Regional Conservation Partnership Program opportunity. If the federal application is approved, the state…
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