Topeka – Drought conditions persist and intensify for Kansas which led Governor Sam Brownback to update the Drought Declaration for Kansas counties Thursday afternoons.

The updated drought declaration has all 105 counties in an emergency status. This status triggers the Kansas Water Office (KWO) and Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) to issue a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for emergency use of state fishing lake storage .

“Our focus at this time is to ensure communities, livestock producers and farmers have the available resources they need,” said Tracy Streeter, Director of the Kansas Water Office and Chair of the Governor’s Drought Response Team. “This MOU would allow small communities and producers to pump water from certain state fishing lakes to provide some relief if they are in dire need of water.”

The MOU limits the types of water use and a fee may be set for use of the state fishing lakes’ water supply.

“As fields, pastures and stock ponds get drier in this drought, we must do everything in our power to assure farmers and ranchers have the ability to access all water and forage available to care for their crops and livestock,” said Dale Rodman, Kansas Secretary of Agriculture.

The  State Fishing Lakes available for withdrawals for Emergency Declared counties are:

Atchison , Barber , Brown , Bourbon , Butler , Chase , Clark , Crawford , Goodman , Jewell , Kingman , Leavenworth , Lyon,  Pottawatomie #1 , Pottawatomie #2 , McPherson , Miami , Mined Lands (Pits), Neosho , Osage , Ottawa , Saline, Scott , Shawnee , Sheridan, Washington, Wilson, Woodson

The emergency drought declaration by the Governor also makes water available from Corps of Engineers reservoirs.