Gov. Laura Kelly is asking the federal government to back off its request to immediately exercise its senior water rights for the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, saying it could lead to an abrupt change in farming practices that would “devastate” the region economically.
The governor last Friday sent a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asking the agency to work collaboratively to find a solution to provide water flow for the refuge while finding a path forward that doesn’t cause “acute” economic harm to the area.
“Failure to reach a collaborative and gradual solution will create unnecessary economic hardships for local businesses and communities that will ripple across the state and region,” the governor cautioned in her letter to the agency.
The federal agency’s request to exercise its senior water rights has triggered a lawsuit seeking to force the state to enforce the agency’s senior water rights in the Rattlesnake Creek basin that feeds the wildlife sanctuary located in Stafford County.
Audubon of Kansas is asking a judge to protect the water supply for the refuge, which it says is threatened by farmers and ranchers who are pumping upstream from the Rattlesnake Creek basin that flows into the wildlife sanctuary.
Located west of Hutchinson, the refuge’s water rights date back to 1957 and supersede 95% of all water rights within the basin.
Earl Lewis, the state’s chief engineer for the Division of Water Resources at the Agriculture Department, agrees that the water rights for the refuge have been impaired by upstream pumping by junior water rights holders subordinate to the refuge.
However in a recent court filing, Lewis said that enforcing those senior water rights immediately wouldn’t come without consequences.
Lewis noted that there are 1,377 junior water rights holders in the Rattlesnake Creek basin covering 1,317 miles that could be affected by any decision that would curtail, limit or cease their water use.
“The scope and scale of this water right administration is unlike anything that has previously occurred in Kansas,” Lewis said in a court filing responding to the lawsuit.
Kelly laid out those concerns in her letter to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
“In addition to being home to the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, an important sanctuary for many migratory and resident species, central Kansas is home to an essential and robust community of agriculture producers and associated rural businesses that constitute the largest industry and private sector employer throughout much of this region of the state,” the governor wrote.
“As a result of these producers contributions to the surrounding economy, an abrupt change in farming practices, which would be required by an immediate call for the service’s senior water rights, could devastate the entire region, including municipalities, schools, residents and businesses not directly involved in the agriculture sector.”
A legal representative of Audubon could not immediately comment on the letter Monday morning.
Kelly’s letter mirrors concerns raised by U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, who said if the federal government moves forward with its request, nearly 800 water rights may be shut off, affecting not just water for irrigation and livestock but for cities and industries, too.
Moran said some stakeholders estimate that the state may lose $300 million to $500 million in annual agricultural activity and as much as $1 billion in annual economic activity if the agency moves ahead with its request.
In a recent column that was published in the Great Bend Tribune, Moran said that even a 60% reduction in planted irrigated acres of corn would result in more than $41 million in lost economic activity.
“The state of Kansas recently put a significant amount of resources behind showing businesses like Panasonic, Integra, and Hilmar the benefits of building in Kansas,” Moran wrote in the column.
“For as important it was for the state to support the estimated $2.5 billion in economic impact derived from the Panasonic project, state leadership cannot ignore the significant contribution to the Kansas economy generated by farmers and ranchers.”
Kelly encouraged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife to work collaboratively on a framework that would not only increase water flow in the Rattlesnake basin but also address the water rights impairment issues affecting the refuge.
“Sustained collaboration could be especially helpful in developing innovative solutions that provide for restoration of adequate stream flow in the basin when water for the refuge is most needed and providing a path forward that avoid acute economic harm to local communities without the service losing any water rights,” Kelly wrote.
