By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The change application for the Edwards County R9 Ranch, the long-term water supply project for Hays and Russell, was submitted to the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources (DWR) six months ago. Revisions have been under review since then. Hays and Russell are asking to transfer their water rights from irrigation use to municipal use, and would be the first cities in Kansas to do so under the state’s Water Transfer Act.
City Manager Toby Dougherty told commissioners last week the latest correspondence from DWR Chief Engineer David Barfield–resulting from a meeting in late March–had five points Pope wanted addressed before the request moves further.
Dougherty outlined the response from Hays and Russell.
The five points are:
- Consumptive use analysis–Hays and Russell have 8,039 acre-feet of water rights at the R9. DWR is proposing 7,604 acre-feet per year–a little less because during irrigation some of the water goes back into the aquifer. Hays/Russell acknowledge the DWR amount.
- Justification for proposed municipal use, proposed amount, and project phasing–Typically, DWR uses a 20-year planning horizon when developing a new source of water. Hays/Russell are requesting a 50-year plan.
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The R9 Ranch is being turned back to native grass as agricultural irrigation water wells are shut down and equipment removed. Flexibility in locating points and rates of diversion–40+ spots where water is pulled out of the ground will be combined into 12 municipal wells. Hays/Russell are requesting flexibility in the 300-foot radius at points of diversion. The cities have already agreed to place no new municipal wells within one-half mile of existing wells owned by others.
- Long-term sustainability of the project and effects to the area–There is an authorized rate of water the cities can pull out of the ranch. DWR is interested in what they determine is a “safe yield,” a sustainable yield year after year, although safe yield is not an issue in the Change Application process. The cities are looking at an intensive groundwater model looking at different runs of rainwater and runoff. DWR wants to review the results of Burns and McDonnell’s refinement of the GMD model. The cities agree.
- Basin stakeholders’ desire to have their concerns heard prior to a decision–DWR intends to hold a public meeting in the Arkansas River Basin prior to making a decision about the Change Applications. The cities have no objection to the meeting but might not present comments or attend.
Dougherty added he “expects a quicker turnaround to the city’s response letter because we’re getting down to smaller and smaller issues.” He hopes to hear back from DWR within a month and will then provide city commissioners with another update.
David Traster, Wichita, is the R9 Ranch Project attorney.
The estimated cost to develop the R9 is $72 million. Hays, which owns 82 percent of the ranch it purchased in 1995, enacted a sales tax in the mid-1990s to help fund the project. The city of Russell owns 18 percent of the R9 Ranch.