Kansas officials say demand for HB 2302 water grants far outstrips available funding

Connie Owen, director of the Kansas Water Office, told the House Committee on Water that the HB 2302 grant program—created to help small communities (populations of 2,000 or fewer) with technical assistance and water projects—continues to see demand far beyond available funding.

Owen summarized three cycles: in fiscal year 2024 the office received 309 applications requesting about $380 million and funded 18 awards; fiscal year 2025 requests totaled roughly $233 million while only $27 million was available; preliminary numbers for the most recent cycle showed about 281 applications requesting roughly $272 million with $18 million available for awards. "We continue to stay in that same comparison of how much incredible need there is out there versus how much we have to award," Owen said.

The program includes two grant types: technical assistance (to fund engineering, planning and project groundwork) and water projects (construction or remediation). Victoria Asbury, the Water Office grant specialist, told the committee that technical‑assistance recipients are closing out projects in the program’s early cycles and that prior technical assistance can enhance competitiveness for subsequent project funding: "It will definitely enhance your application if you've received a technical assistance grant in a previous cycle," Asbury said.

Owen highlighted specific awards: a technical‑assistance grant to Montgomery County Rural Water District No. 9 to fund an engineering report for distribution repairs; and a water‑projects award to the city of Cuba to rehabilitate a water tower after paint tests indicated elevated lead levels and interior rust. Owen said the program has benefited 104 communities across the first two years with about $45 million distributed.

Committee members asked whether federal funds support the program. Owen said the grants are state‑funded, not federal, though recipients can use state awards as cost share for federal grants when applicable.

The Water Office said the third review cycle was ongoing; the office maintains an interactive grants map and outreach materials on its website. Lawmakers and staff discussed options to expand the program or pursue alternative financing (low‑interest loans, cost‑share arrangements) to address persistent unmet needs in rural infrastructure.

Next steps: review of the current application cycle continued and the committee scheduled public testimony on related bills in upcoming meetings.