Volume 44 - Issue 45 - November 6, 2025
State of Kansas
Department of Agriculture
Division of Water Resources
Notice of Hearing on Proposed Administrative Regulations
A public hearing will be conducted at 1:00 p.m. January 8, 2026, in room 124 of the Kansas Department of Agriculture, 1320 Research Park Dr., Manhattan, Kansas, to consider the adoption of proposed regulations. The public hearing will be conducted in person and via video conferencing system. Members of the public who wish to attend the public hearing virtually must pre-register at https://kansasag.zoom.us/j/84210746921?pwd=0kkmZj0XpvLHwTuOIJ9lXDkGd3bdua.1&jst=1.
This 60-day notice of the public hearing shall constitute a public comment period for the purpose of receiving written public comments on the proposed rules and regulations. All interested parties may submit written comments prior to the hearing to the Secretary of Agriculture, 1320 Research Park Dr., Manhattan, KS 66502, or by email to ronda.hutton@ks.gov. All interested parties will be given a reasonable opportunity to present their views orally on the adoption of the proposed regulations during the hearing. To give all parties an opportunity to present their views, it may be necessary to request each participant limit any oral presentation to five minutes. K.A.R. 5-5-17, 5-18-1, and 5-18-2 are proposed for adoption on a permanent basis.
A summary of K.A.R. 5-5-17 follows:
The Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources (KDA-DWR) is proposing a new regulation related to the implementation of the Kansas Water Appropriation Act, K.S.A. 82a-701, et seq. (KWAA), relating to changes in the points of diversion of groundwater rights.
K.A.R. 5-5-17 is a proposed new regulation that governs applications to change the point of diversion of a groundwater right. This regulation would prohibit changes that would move a point of diversion more than a half-mile and would prohibit changes that move a point of diversion more than 300 feet if such change would move a senior water right into a more appropriated area unless the water right can meet safe yield requirements pursuant to K.A.R. 5-3-10 at the new point of diversion. This regulation is intended to curtail the practice of “chasing water,” which is when a water right owner pumps a well in one location until there is no remaining storage in the aquifer, files a change in point of diversion, and then drills a new well up to one-half mile away, in a deeper part of the aquifer and closer to other existing water right owners.
A summary of K.A.R. 5-18-1 and 5-18-2 follows:
KDA-DWR is proposing two new regulations related to the implementation of the KWAA. The regulations relate specifically to the establishment of water conservation areas, or WCAs. WCAs are statutorily authorized by K.S.A. 82a-745 and are voluntary water conservation agreements that water right owners can enter into with the Chief Engineer of KDA-DWR.
K.A.R. 5-18-1 provides that the purpose of each WCA shall reduce the total amount of water withdrawn under the water rights proposed to participate in the water conservation area or to protect or improve water quality and sets forth how the Chief Engineer will determine whether a proposed water conservation area will reduce the amount of water withdrawn under the participating rights. The regulation also includes requirements for when a water conservation area that would allow a participating water right to divert water in excess of its authorized quantity in a given year may be approved and provides requirements for notice to other water right owners in that instance. The regulation also provides that an unused portion of a water quantity allocation under an approved water conservation area may be carried over into a subsequent water conservation area if certain requirements are met.
K.A.R. 5-18-2 sets requirements related to amendments to and the termination of water conservation areas and requirements for providing notice of the same to nearby water right owners and the local groundwater management district.
Economic Impact Statement for K.A.R. 5-5-17
The proposed regulations do not exceed and cannot be said to differ from the requirements of federal law. Federal law is not applicable in this area, as the states generally have primacy in matters related to water within their boundaries, and the KWAA gives the Chief Engineer of KDA-DWR the authority to regulate water use in Kansas and to approve or deny applications to change points of diversion specifically. This proposed regulation is consistent with the doctrine of prior appropriation, which is embodied in the KWAA and is the water law doctrine used by other Western states.
The proposed regulations are not mandated by federal law as a requirement for participating in or implementing a federally subsidized or assisted program and does not exceed any requirements of federal law.
DWR does not expect the regulations to enhance or restrict business activities and growth. WCAs are voluntary conservation tools and are already statutorily authorized and being used.
Water right owners who seek changes in points of diversion greater than 300 feet will be directly affected by the proposed regulation, but KDA-DWR does not consider the requirements of this regulation to impose implementation and compliance costs. Rather, the regulation will protect owners of existing water rights from having the economic value of those rights eroded by a water right that has already dewatered the aquifer in its original location moving into the existing rights’ area. Additionally, water right owners are never required to seek a change in point of diversion, and, as discussed further herein, the regulation exempts such changes that are likely to be motivated by anything other than the desire to “chase” water to a less depleted area of the aquifer.
Businesses that own water rights for which they seek a change in point of diversion of greater than 300 feet will be directly affected by the proposed regulation; however, as referenced, this regulation does not impose direct implementation and compliance costs. Additionally, this economic impact statement does not distinguish between costs related to water rights owned in an individual capacity and those owned by business entities, as many water rights are owned by agricultural producers in the name of an incorporated entity. The regulation treats all types of ownership and all types of water use the same, consistent with the requirements of the KWAA.
The above-mentioned protection for existing property rights that this regulation will ensure provides a significant benefit. Additionally, the regulation would allow for changes in points of diversion up to 300 feet. This is an important benefit to water users because such moves are normally motivated by the need to re-drill a well that has some problem that is not necessarily related to widespread declining water levels rather than by a desire to “chase” water into a more desirable part of the aquifer. The 300-foot move allowance will ensure needed flexibility for a large number of water right owners. For example, from 2020 to present, KDA-DWR approved 1,417 changes in point of diversion of 300 feet or less.
The proposed regulations are not mandated by federal law as a requirement for participating in or implementing a federally subsidized or assisted program and do not exceed any requirements of federal law. In addition, they will not cause any changes in aggregate state revenues and expenditures for the current or next fiscal year or have any immediate or long-range economic impact on individuals, small employers, or the general public.
The agency reached out to the League of Kansas Municipalities, the Kansas Association of Counties, and the Kansas Association of School Boards regarding the potential economic impact of the proposed regulation and none of the entities indicated any economic impact to their organization as a result of the regulation.
In developing the proposed regulation, the agency consulted with the Kansas Livestock Association, Kansas Farm Bureau, the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association, Kansas Corn Growers, the Kansas Rural Water Association, Kansas Municipal Utilities, the Kansas Water Office, and the five Kansas groundwater management districts.
Economic Impact Statement for K.A.R. 5-18-1 and 5-18-2
The proposed regulations do not exceed and cannot be said to differ from the requirements of federal law. Federal law is not applicable in this area, as the states generally have primacy in matters related to water within their boundaries, and the KWAA gives the Chief Engineer of KDA-DWR the authority to regulate water use in Kansas. These proposed regulations are all consistent with the doctrine of prior appropriation, which is embodied in the KWAA and is the water law doctrine used by other Western states, though not all other Western states have implemented an identical voluntary water conservation tool.
The proposed regulations are not mandated by federal law as a requirement for participating in or implementing a federally subsidized or assisted program and does not exceed any requirements of federal law.
DWR does not expect the regulations to enhance or restrict business activities and growth, as WCAs are voluntary conservation tools and already statutorily authorized and being used. Businesses that own water rights and choose to enter into a WCA will be directly affected, as WCAs are entirely voluntary.
These regulations do not present any implementation and compliance costs, as they merely provide more detailed guidance for the implementation of a voluntary program. They will not cause any changes in aggregate state revenues and expenditures for the current or next fiscal year and will not have any economic impact on individuals, small employers, or the general public. WCAs provide water users with flexibility and facilitate water conservation.
The agency reached out to the League of Kansas Municipalities, the Kansas Association of Counties, and the Kansas Association of School Boards regarding the potential economic impact of the proposed regulations and none of those entities indicated any economic impact to their organization as a result of these regulations.
In developing the proposed regulations, the agency consulted with the Kansas Livestock Association, Kansas Farm Bureau, the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association, Kansas Corn Growers, the Kansas Rural Water Association, Kansas Municipal Utilities, the Kansas Water Office, and the five Kansas groundwater management districts.
Any individual with a disability may request accommodations to participate in the public hearing and may request the proposed regulations and economic impact statements in an accessible format. Requests for accommodations should be made at least five working days in advance of the hearing by contacting Ronda Hutton at 785-564-6715 or fax at 785-564-6777.
Copies of the proposed regulations and economic impact statements may be obtained by contacting the Department of Agriculture, Ronda M. Hutton, 1320 Research Park Dr., Manhattan, KS 66502 or 785-564-6715 or by accessing the department’s website at https://www.agriculture.ks.gov. Comments may also be made through our website at https://www.agriculture.ks.gov/public-resources/public-comments.
Earl Lewis
Chief Engineer
Division of Water Resources
Department of Agriculture
Doc. No. 053623
