Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Supply topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City and irrigators describe conservation mode as district eyes storage and Corps release rules
Summary
City utilities and irrigator representatives reported conservation operations at the lake, current pumping levels, and coordination with state agencies and the Corps; irrigators warned that without rain purchased storage releases could reduce lake levels significantly.
City utilities staff and irrigator representatives told the Lower Smoky Hill Water Supply Access District on May 11 that the system is in conservation mode as the lake and river remain below key operational triggers.
Martha Tasker, director of utilities for the City of Salina, said the city has completed outfall work and is "in conserve mode," aiming to keep as much in the lake as possible and to avoid releasing purchased storage unless necessary. Tasker reported the city is producing about 6,600,000 gallons per day, with typical seasonal variations and a higher peak later in summer. She said river pumping is roughly 1,800 gallons per minute (about 4 cubic feet per second) and that the team is watching lake elevation and a v-notch weir to determine when water can flow freely.
A presenter representing irrigators (speaker 1) thanked the city for cooperation and said irrigators are currently pumping under their allotted appropriation and are not yet pumping stored (purchased) water. He said the district needs "a 2 or 3 inch rain above Kannapolis" as spoken in the transcript to refill storage, and described the Corps' release practices: the Corps typically opens to at least 50 cubic feet per second (cfs) and releases are managed with the Corps and irrigators to match demand.
"We truly, truly, truly, truly need a 2 or 3 inch rain above Kannapolis to get it full," the presenter said.
Board members asked about downstream benefits and monitoring. Tasker said the city aims to maintain roughly 10 cfs moving past the weir for water quality, and would prefer 20 cfs as a stable flow; staff monitor the weir and contact irrigators, the Kansas Water Office and DWR if flows are insufficient. Tasker added the wastewater treatment plant returns about 3,600,000 gallons per day to the river, but that return flow is downstream of the weir and may not prevent low-flow conditions nearer the weir.
Panelists emphasized coordination: irrigators, city staff, the Kansas Water Office and DWR communicate about releases and metering to avoid overpumping; metering is used to track withdrawals and any use of purchased water would require metering to account for individual shares. Speakers cautioned that if the Corps' releases and local withdrawals require use of purchased storage broadly, the lake could be drawn down substantially.
The board did not take action on water operations at the meeting; staff briefed members and will continue coordination with state agencies and irrigators.
