
By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Water is a precious, finite resource. That is the basis for an ongoing legal battle in Stafford County. Details are still sparse on the rules that would take effect Jan. 1, 2024, which may have drastic economic impacts for the county. Orrin Feril, manager for Big Bend Groundwater Management District No. 5 (GMD), is hopeful to be able to implement a resolution that will benefit all parties involved.
"I think this region has water resources abundant enough that we can find a resolution that allows for operations at Quivira (National Wildlife Refuge), as well as irrigated agriculture in this region," he said. "We don't experience the same types of water shortages as they do out west, but we don't get the rainfall like they do in the eastern part of the state. We're caught right in the middle."
In the next 15-30 days, Kansas Department of Agriculture Chief Engineer Earl Lewis is expected to release the details of a water rights administration plan that will affect up to 1,300 holders of water rights in the region. Feril said depending on what action is taken, the area economy could lose $6-24 million annually.
"Be informed," he said. "Be a part of this process. There are a lot of rumors going around, a lot of speculation going around on what may or may not happen. Be informed before you buy into every rumor that's out there. Give us a call here at the district. We're more than happy to walk through the concerns and address those as best we can."
The water rights issue stems back decades. In Kansas, time is an important factor in water law.
"It's called First in Time, First in Right," Feril said. "The first person in line to apply for that permit has rights over the person behind them in line. It's all about the timing when you applied for and received that permit."
Quivira National Wildlife Refuge is owned by the U.S. Department of the Interior and maintained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The refuge received its water rights permit, entitling it to more than 14,000 acre-feet of water each year, in 1957. Many of the other permits in Stafford County were issued in the 1970s and beyond. That makes those permits junior to USFWS' water rights.
In the 1990s, USFWS began making assertions Quivira was not receiving all the water it was entitled to. Over the next several years, GMD worked with USFWS and the state of Kansas to resolve the issue of balancing water access in the region.
In 2013, USFWS officially filed an impairment claim stating that water users upstream of the refuge in the Rattlesnake Creek region were impairing the refuge's ability to divert its water. That triggered the state to conduct an investigation that lasted three years. In 2016, the state issued its report in agreement with USFWS. The report further said water rights curtailment and/or stream-flow augmentation would be necessary to resolve the issue.
GMD and partners continue to look into how various resolutions will impact the area. GMD is charged with management of the water resources in the region. By statute, GMD has an obligation to use its resources to ensure proper management and conservation of groundwater resources, and to prevent economic deterioration of the region.
That's what GMD has done since its inception in 1976. But in 2019, the state proposed the idea of direct administration of water rights, which would curtail water rights junior to those of the refuge.
"That process was stopped right as it was getting started by Senator Moran, who met with then-Director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Aurelia Skipwith in Washington, D.C."
Since then, GMD has been working directly with USFWS to work towards a resolution. The goal is to meet the water demands required for Quivira to serve as a wildlife refuge, but also to maintain economic viability for the region. In 2020, GMD and UWFWS signed a Memorandum of Agreement that outlined the pieces of that resolution.
"We are still in that process," Feril said. "We were obviously slowed down by the COVID-19 pandemic, and other pieces of this have been slowed down due to the availability of staffing and availability of contractors for fieldwork. Even with the delays, we are still on schedule and on budget for it, which is kind of a unique situation to be operating a federal project that is on time and on budget."
In January 2021, GMD was able to unveil the framework for the watershed plan. It allowed the public and agencies to review the plan and offer feedback. A similar opportunity is expected early in 2024.
"We've spent a lot of time and effort on this planning with our consultants out of Kansas City, Nebraska, and New Mexico to try and get this thing pushed across the finish line," said Feril.
Then USFWS filed a Request to Secure Water earlier this year. That prompted Lewis to take action this calendar year to secure water for the 2024 calendar year. Details are sparce, but in previous meetings, Lewis has said that could mean reducing water use by 30 percent in the area. Feril said shutting off water rights to 800 water rights permits, under one proposal, could have a $6-12 million economic impact annually on Stafford County. Curtailing water rights for some 1,300 permit holders would double that impact.
"That poses a significant potential economic impact to the region that is already below the poverty line and that is very ag centered," Feril said.
Anyone with questions about the issue can contact Feril at Big Bend Groundwater Management District No. 5 by calling (620) 234-5352.