TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — State officials with regulatory authority over Kansas’ underground water resources are still looking for an individual or group willing to enter into a voluntary conservation program.

The purpose of legislation signed by Gov. Sam Brownback in April was to create a network of Water Conservation Areas that would restrain consumption, maintain agricultural production and help extend life of the Ogallala Aquifer. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the program was hailed as central element of the administration’s commitment to more efficient industrial use of water.

Kansas Department of Agriculture secretary Jackie McClaskey says convincing water right holders to engage in Water Conservation Areas is critical in advancing Brownback’s 50-year plan for managing the resource.

Brownback also signed legislation aiming to extend the life of the Ogallala Aquifer in 2012.