August 21, 2006

Governor: All counties in Kansas now under drought warning
Sebelius upgrades drought status from watch to warning for 25 counties

Despite locally heavy rainfall and cooler temperatures this past week, drought conditions persist throughout Kansas, which led Governor Kathleen Sebelius to today upgrade the drought status of 25 counties in northeast and east central Kansas from watch to warning.

As a result, all of Kansas is now under a drought warning. A drought warning indicates a severe drought. Public water suppliers, based on their self-determined water conservation plan, may impose mandatory water use restrictions. Urgent surplus water contracts from state controlled storage may be authorized.

“We’ve seen some rain showers around the state, but overall it’s still very dry.  Until we see a major change in the weather and get some sustained rainfall, the drought will continue,” said Sebelius.

The Governor’s action came on the recommendation of her Drought Response Team, which met last Friday to analyze conditions around the state.

“We can’t make it rain, but we’re doing all we can to best respond to the drought,” said Sebelius. “We’ve simplified the availability of emergency water for communities, tapped reservoir supplies, and forged coordinated plans to prevent and fight wildfires.”

To speed the availability of emergency water, the State of Kansas has now simplified the process to provide water through surplus water contracts under the water marketing program. Any water owned by the state and not committed to either the marketing or assurance programs may be sold.

In the past, surplus water contracts, contingent on available supply, had to be approved by the Kansas Water Authority. Last week, discretionary interim contracting authority was given to the director of the Kansas Water Office by the Kansas Water Authority.

This authority will likely be used, as experts told the Drought Response Team that, while there have been hotter and drier summers, this one has set a new benchmark for record low stream flows in many areas. Eleven streams at 13 stream gauge locations are not meeting target flow levels.

David Pope, chief engineer with the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Water Resources said, “It’s unprecedented the number of streams simultaneously experiencing low flow.

More than normal rainfall is needed to bring the Palmer Drought Severity Index back to a not-too-wet, not-too-dry mode, state climatologist Mary Knapp told the Governor’s drought team. September and October normally are wetter months and global climatic conditions favor a wetter fall than last year.  Knapp noted the wide variability of rainfall in even a 15-mile radius and the short duration of the effectiveness of even a 4-inch rain on a Riley County stream.

The Governor’s Drought Response Team was reorganized by Gov. Sebelius’ Executive Order 03-17 on August 21, 2003 to “ensure the State of Kansas responds in a timely and appropriate manner to the impacts of drought upon its people, resources and the environment.” 

The team is chaired by the director of the Kansas Water Office. Members include representatives from the Kansas Water Office, the Governor’s Office, Adjutant General’s Department, the Departments of Agriculture, Administration, Health and Environment, and Wildlife and Parks, the State Fire Marshal, Kansas State University, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the USDA Farm Service Agency.

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