An official State of Kansas government website.

Government Website icon

The .gov means it's official.
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Padlock icon

The site is secure.
The https:// or lock icon ensures you're safely connected to the website and any information you provide is encrypted.

Publications iconKansas Register

Print icon

Volume 42 - Issue 34 - August 24, 2023

State of Kansas

Office of the Governor

Executive Order 23-04
Proclaiming States of Drought for Kansas Counties

WHEREAS, the Director of the Kansas Water Office has informed me, pursuant to K.S.A. 74-2608, of drought conditions within the state;

WHEREAS, there is every indication that drought conditions are present across the state;

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, and specifically authorizes drought proclamations such as this to address drought conditions; and

WHEREAS, Director of the Kansas Water Office, in consultation with the Governor’s Drought Response Team, is authorized to upgrade a county to emergency status, as the need arises;

NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Kansas and K.S.A. 48-924(e), I hereby:

  1. Declare a Drought Watch, Drought Warning or Drought Emergency for the counties below:
    1. Drought Watch counties: Atchison, Barber, Brown, Cheyenne, Clark, Comanche, Doniphan, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Hamilton, Harper, Haskell, Jackson, Jefferson, Kearny, Leavenworth, Logan, Marshall, Meade, Morton, Nemaha, Rawlins, Scott, Seward, Sherman, Stanton, Stevens, Thomas, Wallace, Wichita, Wyandotte.
    2. Drought Warning counties: Cherokee, Clay, Decatur, Douglas, Franklin, Geary, Johnson, Kingman, Labette, Linn, Miami, Osage, Pottawatomie, Riley, Shawnee, Sheridan, Wabaunsee, Washington.
    3. Drought Emergency counties: Allen, Anderson, Barton, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cloud, Coffey, Cowley, Crawford, Dickinson, Edwards, Elk, Ellis, Ellsworth, Finney, Ford, Gove, Graham, Greenwood, Harvey, Hodgeman, Jewell, Kiowa, Lane, Lincoln, Lyon, Marion, McPherson, Mitchell, Montgomery, Morris, Neosho, Ness, Norton, Osborne, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Pratt, Reno, Republic, Rice, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Saline, Sedgwick, Smith, Stafford, Sumner, Trego, Wilson, Woodson.
  2. Authorize and direct all agencies under the jurisdiction of the Governor to implement the appropriate Watch, Warning or Emergency level drought response actions assigned to them in the Operations Plan of the Governor’s Drought Response Team.
  3. Order that county drought stages declared in the Executive Order shall remain in effect until revised or rescinded by a subsequent Executive Order.
  4. Rescind Executive Order 22-08 upon Executive Order 23-04 becoming effective.

This document shall be filed with the Secretary of State as Executive Order 23-04 and shall become effective immediately.

Dated August 15, 2023.

Laura Kelly
Governor

Doc. No. 051428

Secretary of State Seal