Cities of Hays, Russell file application to transfer water from R9 Ranch in Edwards Co. to Hays

Hays and Russell city officials discuss the R-9 Ranch project at a meeting June 24. — Hays and Russell city officials discuss the R9 Ranch project at a meeting June 24, 2015, in Russell.

City of Hays

After decades of study, research, and planning, Hays and Russell, Kansas, are a huge step closer to finally obtaining an adequate and dependable water supply. On Thursday, January 7, 2016, Hays and Russell filed an application to transfer up to 7,625.5 acre-feet of water from their R9 Ranch in Edwards County for their municipal use.

The Cities purchased the R9 Ranch, including its 30 irrigation water rights, in 1995 in order to transfer water to Hays and Russell. As the only feasible long-term water source available to the Cities, approval of the transfer will provide the Cities, and potentially other water suppliers in the region, with a drought-proof water supply.

“Anticipating future needs, in the 1940s and ‘50s, Russell and Hays acquired water rights in Cedar Bluff Reservoir and on the Smoky Hill River. In 1995, the Cities demonstrated the same kind of foresight when they purchased the water rights on the R9 Ranch. Thursday’s action is the next step in that process that began more than 75 years ago,” said Hays City Manager, Toby Dougherty.

Russell City Manager, Jon Quinday, agreed: “We believe that using the water rights on the R9 Ranch for the Cities’ populations is essential to our ability to grow responsibly. We anticipate that the water rights will not only serve our populations, but those of our regional neighbors as well. It is the highest and best use of the water and will help halt the population decline in Western Kansas.”

In anticipation of this transfer application, in June 2015, the Cities filed applications to change the water rights on the R9 Ranch from irrigation to municipal use. Those applications are currently awaiting approval by the Chief Engineer at the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources.

After the transfer is approved, a pipeline from the Ranch to the existing water supply infrastructure will be built. This multi-year project will finally end the Cities’ long-term and expensive search for a reliable and sufficient source of water.

Kansas law requires that the Chief Engineer, the Director of the Kansas Water Office, and the Secretary of Health and Environment review and approve proposals to move 2,000 acre-feet of water or more per year a distance of 35 miles or more. A copy of the application can be found HERE.