Chasing the Channel – Blog No. 19

Chasing the Channel – Blog No. 19

So, let’s talk water.  I’m not talking about the river itself, although it is directly related to protecting it.  I’m talking about water funding.

I have spent every year of my time with Friends of the Kaw advocating for water funding.  The first six years were spent advocating at Legislative Days at the Kansas State Capitol and in my role on the Kansas Basin Regional Advisory Committee.  Recently, in my appointment to the Chair of the Kansas Water Authority, I will once again be advocating at the Kansas State Capitol to fund water. 

Why is this so important?  The Kansas Water Office is responsible for creating the Kansas Water Plan, a comprehensive document that incorporates characteristics mandated by the State Water Resources Planning Act. Once complete, this document will be submitted to the Kansas Water Authority for review and approval.  This document outlines programs that can be used across the state to protect water quality and quantity.  This is a very detailed and well thought out document, but if you don’t fund it, it is of little value.

The Kansas Water Plan is required to be funded by the State Water Plan Fund.  The State Water Plan Fund receives funds from fees that are assessed to municipal, industrial, and agricultural-related water users and includes a demand transfer (statutory) from the State General Fund for $6 million and EDIF (Economic Development Initiatives Fund) for $2 million.  This total statutory demand transfer payment of $8 million per year has not been fully made into the State Water Plan Fund for the last 15 years, resulting in $84.6 million that has not been transferred to the Kansas Water Plan Fund.  In the past few years, the Kansas Legislators have increased the funding and demonstrated a commitment to these water priorities through partial restoration of these dollars.  However, the Blue Ribbon Task Force determined that the state needs roughly $55 million per year for water.  We currently sit at a total of approximately $20 million per year for water.  So….we have some work to do, but let’s start will full restoration of the demand transfer of $8 million. 

In Governor Kelly’s recent State of the State Address earlier this month, she announced that for the first time in 15 years, her budget would reflect a full restoration of the $8 Million to the State Water Plan Fund. We were thrilled to hear this announcement and thank Governor Kelly for supporting water.  Our next steps involve every single one of us in this state – we must make a call to action.  Please contact your Legislator (Kansas Senate and House of Representative, find yours here) and let them know that you care about water and want to see the statutory funding fully restored.  When you write, call or see them in person, please always be grateful and thank them for their work to increase funding over the years, however, please support full restoration of the demand transfer of $8 million. 

To get completely up to date on the status of water planning in Kansas, please read the Kansas Water Authority’s 2022 Annual Report to the Governor and Legislature.

We have more work to do, but it starts here.  We can do more, when we do it together.

For the river,

Dawn Buehler

Kansas Riverkeeper & Executive Director

Friends of the Kaw