Senator Kenny Titus outlines legislatively led water task force work and timeline

Senator Kenny Titus, cochair of the legislatively led water program task force, told the Committee on Water the group’s three objectives are to identify major risks to water quantity and quality, determine appropriate response steps, and assess whether current funding is adequate. He said the task force and an appointed working group are reviewing the Water Resource Planning Act — the statutory framework for the water authority and state water plan — to update priorities that have not been comprehensively reviewed in decades.

Titus described a three‑phase approach: (1) a completed risk assessment phase that highlighted declining groundwater in western Kansas and reservoir sedimentation in eastern Kansas and increasing challenges for public water suppliers (for example, nitrate or uranium contamination); (2) an ongoing planning-process review to determine whether the state water plan should look more like a project list or a broader framework; and (3) a funding and agency‑efficiency phase to begin next spring and continue into summer. He said the work group is drafting recommendations and that the statute anticipates a final task‑force report to the 2027 legislature.

Titus gave examples of the economic tradeoffs facing small communities: drilling and treating a local well or building a treatment plant can cost millions, while connecting to a nearby rural water district may cost an estimated $5.5 million but does not guarantee a contaminant‑free supply over the long term. He said the task force has encouraged groundwater management districts (GMDs) to identify vulnerable areas and put plans in place, and he praised ongoing local progress.

On regulatory shifts, Representative Stocksdale asked whether recent Environmental Protection Agency changes were being incorporated into the review; Titus said the committee has discussed scenarios in which standards tighten — citing PFAS as an example that could raise the number of noncompliant systems from a small number to many, with a large price tag to remedy. On participation, Titus said the working group’s meetings are open and that its role is to review the statute and pass recommendations to the task force for public workshop consideration.

Next procedural steps include producing a preliminary report this year and delivering a final report per statutory timing for the 2027 legislature; Titus said staff will work on a bill draft in spring if the work group brings concrete statutory changes.