Water District Newsletter Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District Volume 3 Issue 12

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WATER DISTRICT NEWSLETTER SOUTHWEST KANSAS GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT (GMD3) A GOVERNING BODY CONTROLLED BY LOCAL PEOPLE vocume s, issue j_/ www.gma-i.org December, 2003 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HANK HANSEN hhansen @gmd3.org ASSISTANT MANAGER JANET L. KING jking @gmd3.org CONSERVATIONIST KENT SHAW kshaw @gmd3.org CONSERVATIONIST JASON NORQUEST norquest @gmd3.org CLERK SHARON SCHIFFELBEIN MISHLER sschiffe @gmd3.org BOARD PRESIDENT BRANT PETERSON Stanton County VICE PRESIDENT KENT DUNN Seward County SECRETARY PETER YORK Haskell County TREASURER MIKE O'BRATE Gray County BOARD MEMBERS DAVID BRENN Surface ARLEN EATON Ford WARREN FOX Meade JAY HOUTSMA Hamilton WAYNE BREEDING Morton KIRK A. MADDUX Kearny ALAN SCHWEITZER Municipal CLAY SCOTT Grant STEVE STONE Finney THOMAS FORD Industrial SHANNON CRAWFORD Stevens PHONE (620) 275 -7147 FAX (620) 275 -1431 MEETINGS: 2ND WED. EACH MONTH 9:00 A.M. - DISTRICT OFFICE 409 CAMPUS DR., SUITE 106 GARDEN CITY, KS 67846 http: / /www.gmd3.org AQUIFER MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL ACCEPTED BY CHIEF ENGINEER David Pope, Chief Engineer, KS Div. of Water Resources confirmed during the Nov. 19, 2003 Fall Water Summit hosted by GMD3 that the District has complied with the Nov. 14, 2003 deadline by providing an acceptable aquifer management protocol. CHIEF ENGINEER REQUESTS REDUCTION IN RATE OF DECLINE Also during the Fall Water Summit, David Pope requested that the rate of decline is to be reduced in the next 3 years, or he will accomplish it via regulatory means. This comment followed the Board of Directors reassuring the Chief Engineer that they are committed to achieving a reduction in the rate of decline as defined in their recent aquifer management protocol. Areas classified as High Priority Aquifer Subunits have been tentatively identified, but actual goals needed to reduce the rate of decline have not yet been established. Such goals will be designed according to each aquifer subunit's characteristics. GMD3 will conduct public meetings early next year to inform stakeholders of the requirement to reduce the rate of decline and to receive their input on developing the means to reduce the decline. Mr. Pope stated that maintaining the "status quo" in a high priority subunit is not an acceptable solution to the problem. He also stated that reductions in irrigated land are necessary to reduce the demand on this depleting aquifer. The current version of the Aquifer Management Protocol may be viewed at the District's web site: www.gmd3.org. PROPOSED CHANGES TO UPDATE REGULATIONS A public hearing will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2004 at 10:00 a.m. CST at the GMD3 office to consider the adoption of amended regulations recommended by GMD3's Board of Directors to the Chief Engineer. The overall impact of these changes is negligible. The intent is to enable the interpretation of the rules to be more consistent with the methods currently being applied. The proposals are summarized as follows: K.A.R. 5 -23 -1 involves word definitions used in regulations unique to the District. The District will provide testimony recommending the definitions be amended in a manner that eliminates duplication with existing definitions presently found in other regulations having statewide application, or which can be readily found in a common English dictionary. K.A.R. 5 -23 -3 concerns existing well spacing requirements for the High Plains Aquifer that are uniquely suited to this district. Terminology has been improved that doesn't significantly change the intent of the current regulation. K.A.R. 5- 23 -3a, which has proposed changes in grammar that are similar to the previous rule. The difference is that this rule regulates well spacing in a confined aquifer as opposed to the unconfined High Plains Aquifer. It now proposes to restrict a proposed confined aquifer well requesting 15 acre -feet or less to be a minimum of 2,640 feet from the nearest point of hydraulic contact with the unconfined aquifer. Along with that, the same type of well proposed to divert 16 to 25 acre -feet will be restricted a minimum distance of 1 mile from the nearest point of hydraulic contact. Both of those distances are greater than the current requirements and are intended to protect the integrity of the confined aquifer. Approximately only 75 wells of the roughly 10,525 permitted wells in GMD3 are supplied water from a confined aquifer. (Full text of Regulations can be seen at District web site.)