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1917-1955
The Kansas Water Commission was created by
the 1917 Legislature to “ . . . work out a systematic general plan
for the complete development of each watershed in the state . . .”
However, no planning funds were provided. In 1927, the Kansas Water
Commission was abolished and its planning functions were assigned to
the Division of Water Resources, State Board of Agriculture. In
1947, a plan was officially adopted for the Neosho River Basin.
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1955-1961
In 1955, the newly created Kansas
Water Resources Board was directed to “. . . work out a state plan
of water resources development for each watershed in the state. .
.” In 1958, an amendment to the Kansas Constitution removed the
prohibition against state financial involvement in water projects.
Also in 1958 the Federal Water Supply Act authorized a portion of
the costs of a federal multipurpose reservoir project to be
allocated to future municipal and industrial water supply.
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1963-1965
In 1963, the Legislature enacted the State
Water Plan Act, which directed the Board to present to the
Legislature a comprehensive state water plan. In 1965, the Board
submitted a draft of proposed legislation which was enacted as the
State Water Plan
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1966-1969
In 1966, the Board prepared reports on
special water districts, groundwater, water quality control needs,
irrigation, water law, and water demands for industrial, municipal
and rural domestic uses. In 1968, the Board, and the Bureau of
Reclamation, began studies to analyze the land and water resources
of Kansas. Included in these studies were projections of the
economy, population and water needs for the years 1985 and 2000.
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1970-1974
The Board concentrated n studies of
mineral intrusion areas and modifications to the 1968 Groundwater
Management District Act. Two significant pieces of legislation were
enacted during this period: the 1972 Groundwater Management
District Act and the 1974 State Water Plan Storage Act.
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1978-1982
In 1978, the final report of a two-year
study by a governor’s task force on water resources contained 39
recommendations regarding the state’s legal, policy and
administrative water issues. In 1979, the Board began to revise the
State Water Plan, placing increased emphasis on conservation and
management. In 1981, the revised plan was passed by the
Legislature. On July 1, 1981, the Kansas Water Resources Board was
abolished and renamed the Kansas Water Office. A 16-member Kansas
Water Authority was created and assumed many of the duties and
responsibilities of the former Board.
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1983-1986
In 1983, legislation addressing interbasin
transfers of water, minimum desirable streamflows and amendments to
the State Water Plan Storage Act was enacted.
In the fall of 1983, the
Office presented a proposed State Water Plan to the Authority and
discussed the plan at public meetings throughout the state.
In
November 1984, the Kansas Water Plan was approved by the
Kansas Water Authority and submitted to the Governor and
Legislature. On February 18, 1985, HCR 5010 officially endorsed the
planning process of the Kansas Water Office and requested the
state’s water agencies to submit legislation to implement the plan’s
proposals.
In 1985, an 11-member basin
advisory committee was established in each of the state’s 12 major
river basins.
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1989-1991
Based on legislation passed in 1985, the
nation’s first water assurance district (the Kansas River Water
Assurance District) came “on line” during the drought of 1991.
Creation of the State Water Plan Fund in 1989 provided a dedicated
source of revenue for implementation of the Kansas Water Plan.
This fund provides around $18 million annually and is comprised of a
combination of state general revenues, economic development
initiative funds (lottery), and various water use fees on municipal,
industrial and stock water uses, and fees on pesticide and
fertilizer use. Pollution fines, penalties and sand royalties also
contribute to the fund.
Major additions to the Kansas Water Plan during this period
were “Public Education: A Natural Resources Curriculum for Kansas
Schools” (1990), “On-Site Assistance to Public Water Supply System
Personnel: (1990), “Water Use Conservation” (1990) and “Coordination
of Geographic Based Planning and Implementation Process” (1991).
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1992
The Kansas Water Office initiated a
sub-basin planning effort in 1992 designed to focus planning on
specific priority issues that were not identified in the existing
basin plans. One such example is the “Upper Arkansas River Corridor
Sub-basin Plan.”
The Governor’s Water Quality
Initiative was launched in 1995. It was a multi-agency
investigation of surface water contamination from nonpoint source
pollution in the Kansas-Lower Republican Basin.
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1997-Present
The Kansas Water Office and Governor’s
Office sponsored a vision summit in November 1997, attended by over
200 representatives of the water community that participated in
drafting long-range goals for the Kansas Water Plan.
In
1998, after extensive discussions, the Kansas Water Authority
approved the draft goals developed from the 1997 vision summit as
Kansas Water Plan objectives for the year 2010.
The
2010 objectives provide the basis for a revised Kansas Water Plan
approved by the Kansas Water Authority in 1999.
