By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
RUSSELL–Russell Mayor Curt Mader, who grew up in the town, remembers the days when it was “us against them.”
The cities of Russell and Hays often were viewed as competing with each other.
Today, the towns are co-owners of the R9 Ranch in Edwards County, purchased in 1994 as a long-term solution to water needs for Russell and Hays.
The governing bodies of both towns, along with their respective utilities directors and city attorneys met Tuesday evening in Russell City Hall for an update of the development of the R9 Ranch. The cities want to use 7,500 of the 8,000 acre feet of water rights associated with the R9. Russell owns 18% of the ranch; Hays owns 82%.
Project change applications will be filed with the Kansas Division of Water Resources (DWR) within the next few days, according to Project Attorney David Traster of Foulston Siefkin Law LLP, Wichita.
“We’ll be asking to change the place of use from the ranch to Hays and Russell; to change the authorized water use from agricultural irrigation to municipal consumption; and to change the point of diversion, which will allow new municipal use wells to be drilled and consolidate the numerous existing irrigation wells to just 12 or 14 total wells,” Traster explained.
“Municipal use would be (taking less water) than agricultural use,” Russell city councilman Jim Cross pointed out. Ceasing traditional farming and converting water rights to municipal use would leave more water in the aquifer than current practices. The usage for Hays and Russell represents less than two percent of the water utilized in Edwards County.
A transfer application must also be filed which will trigger the state’s Water Transfer Act for the first time ever, and requires a public hearing. “This has never been done before,” said Traster.
“Both Hays and Russell have been talking about new water resources and have been studying options for 60 years,” said Hays city manager Toby Dougherty. “The R9 represents the most viable option for a secure, long-term water supply for the region.”
Letters of support for the project have come from the cities of Ellis, Victoria and LaCrosse, as well as Ellis County.
“We’re kind of in a no-man’s land out here where we have the population but we don’t have the water. You get west of us, you get Ogallala Aquifer water; you get east of us, you have reliable surface water as well.
“As a result we’ve had to conserve water and we’ve reached the limits of effective conservation,” Dougherty said.
“If we tighten our belts too much…we’re going to become those communities in Kansas that don’t have any water and that’s going to harm our ability to grow.
“We saw that when we were in Stage IV,” confirmed Russell city councilman Paul Phillips. Stage IV is the most critical water conservation level in Russell.
Right now the Russell/Ellis County region represents a $2.5 billion annual economy, the results found in an economic study Hays contracted with the Docking Institute at Fort Hays State University.
“So we think we can demonstrate to the state that if they want this part of the economy to continue to grow and prosper, it needs a long-term water source,” Dougherty said with a look of determination on his face.
“I think that’s what it all boils down to–the ability to get rid of that stigma of no water. A lot of you have lived here all your lives and you’ve dealt with water as an issue. Be a part of the group that ends that discussion and now we can focus all our effort, manpower and thought on something else. Think how important that would be to our communities,” he said.
“Nothing grows without water,” agreed Mayor Mader, who owns a greenhouse in Russell.
“I think moving forward and approaching this from a regional standpoint–instead of us against them–is the best way for all of us to move forward as a group. This is a big step,” Mader added.
Lead engineer Brian Meier, Burns and McDonnell, Wichita, presented a slide program of how the years-long project would be designed. The total development cost is estimated at $70 million.
The R9 Ranch, south of Kinsley and 78 miles from Hays, is being converted to native grass as agricultural irrigation water wells are shut down and equipment removed. Talks with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism have begun about the area being used for the state’s Walk-In Hunting program along with preservation and protection of the lesser prairie chicken habitat.