Chief engineer outlines multi‑year flex accounts and processing delays amid drought concerns
Summary
Earl Lewis, chief engineer at the Kansas Division of Water Resources, told the Joint Committee that multi‑year flex accounts (KSA 82A‑736) let groundwater users shift pumping within a five‑year window. He said Senate Bill 58 standardized calculations and aimed to reduce backlog that previously stretched permit processing to 15–18 months.
Earl Lewis, chief engineer of the Kansas Department of Agriculture Division of Water Resources, told the Joint Committee the multi‑year flex accounts program allows groundwater users to pump more in one year if they pump less in other years within a five‑year period.
"I am Earl Lewis I'm the chief engineer of the Kansas Park Agricultures Division of Water Resources," Lewis said in his presentation, describing the program’s voluntary, aquifer‑neutral design and noting it does not alter a holder’s base water right.
Lewis traced the program to drought years in central and western Kansas and said the statute (KSA 82A‑736) and the recently enacted Senate Bill 58 moved the state to a single calculation method and a streamlined process. He cited a drought year in which the agency received about 650 flex‑account applications and said that backlog pushed regular permit processing from roughly six to nine months to 15–18 months because staff were diverted to flex‑account work.
Committee members asked how drought triggers use of the accounts and how data centers would access water. Lewis said drought is not a statutory trigger for eligibility but typically drives interest. On data centers he said no direct applications had reached the division yet and explained three access routes for large industrial users: buying water from a municipal supplier, applying for a new appropriation where water is available, or buying existing rights and converting their use. He cautioned that water‑cooled facilities can be high‑volume users while air‑cooled designs consume less water but use more energy.
Why it matters: the program is intended to let producers manage short‑term needs without increasing long‑term aquifer drawdown. Lawmakers pressed the agency for follow‑up on permitting timelines and on how the agency will handle emerging large industrial applicants.
Next steps: DWR told the committee it will provide requested written follow‑ups on data‑center application timing and aquifer impacts.
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