EXECUTIVE ORDER 06-04
WHEREAS, the Director of the Kansas Water Office has informed me, pursuant to K.S.A. 74-2608, of the continuing presence of drought conditions within the state; and
WHEREAS, Kansas has just experienced one of its driest winters on record; and numerous grass and range fires, below normal reservoir levels and streamflow, and deficient soil moisture attest to the dryness as we approach the growing season; and
WHEREAS, the Kansas Emergency Management Act (K.S.A. 48-924 et seq.) states that the Governor shall be responsible for meeting the dangers to the state and its people from disasters, including drought.
NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Kansas, I hereby:
- Declare a Drought Warning or Drought Watch for the counties identified below; and
- Authorize and direct all agencies under the jurisdiction of the Governor to implement the appropriate Watch or Warning level drought response actions assigned to them in the Operations Plan of the Governor's Drought Response Team.
Drought Warning counties by Climate/Crop Reporting District
Northwest: Cheyenne, Rawlins, Decatur, Norton, Sherman, Thomas, Sheridan and Graham.
West Central: Greeley, Wichita, Scott, Lane, Ness, Gove, Logan, Trego and Wallace.
Southwest: Clark, Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray, Hamilton, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearny, Meade, Morton, Seward, Stanton and Stevens.
North Central: Phillips, Rooks, Smith, Jewell, Osborne, Mitchell, Republic, Washington, Cloud, Clay and Ottawa.
Central: Barton, Dickinson, Ellis, Ellsworth, Lincoln, McPherson, Marion, Rice, Rush, Russell and Saline.
South Central: Barber, Comanche, Edwards, Harper, Harvey, Kingman, Kiowa, Pawnee, Pratt, Reno, Sedgwick, Stafford and Sumner.
Southeast: Allen, Bourbon, Butler, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Greenwood, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson and Woodson.
Drought Watch counties by Climate/Crop Reporting District
Northeast: Atchison, Brown, Doniphan, Jackson, Jefferson, Leavenworth, Marshall, Nemaha, Pottawatomie, Riley and Wyandotte.
East Central: Anderson, Chase, Coffey, Douglas, Franklin, Geary, Johnson, Linn, Lyon, Miami, Morris, Osage, Shawnee and Wabaunsee.
County drought stages declared in this Executive Order shall remain in effect until revised or rescinded by a subsequent Executive Order.
This document shall be filed with the Secretary of State as Executive Order No. 06-04 and shall become effective immediately.
