Water released from Cedar Bluff Reservoir has reached well fields for the cities of Hays and Russell.

Hays called for 1,247 acre-feet, the entire amount from an artificial recharge pool maintained by the Kansas Water Office (KWO).

The lake level is already 20 feet below normal and has dropped another 4 inches after the Hays release which started March 4.  It took less than a week for the flow along the Smoky Hill River to reach the city’s Schoenchen well field.

Water bound for the city of Russell’s well field near Pfeifer started down the Smoky Hill River last Thursday.  Public Works Director Arlyn Unrein said the release should be between 1,000 and 1,500 acre-feet.

Russell owns the rights to 2,000 acre-feet of water from Cedar Bluff. Hays has no water rights at Cedar Bluff, and was given permission from the KWO to use the artificial recharge pool.