A pending decision regarding the method of providing additional water to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge has irrigators along with economic development officials on edge. The refuge which is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, filed a claim in 2013 to the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources, that the water flowing into the Refuge from Rattlesnake Creek has been negatively been impacted by irrigation. It was determined by the Chief Engineer of the KDWR, that indeed the water flow has been impaired. By Kansas law,

the Service’s surface water right is senior to the ground water rights of most irrigators. Therefore, more surface water must be provided to the refuge which could affect the amount of water irrigators would be able to use for their crops. Carolyn Dunn is the Economic Development Director for Stafford County.

Carolyn Dunn Audio

The issue now being deliberated is how much water must be provided and how that will be accomplished. The Chief Engineer has determined that augmentation, which would involve drilling new wells to provide additional water, is an acceptable method for providing the additional water the Service is entitled to under his ruling. The question is how that augmentation will occur, where the wells will be drilled, where the water is delivered, and if additional reductions in irrigation will also be required.

Carolyn Dunn Audio

In a letter to Secretary Ryan Zinke with the Department of Interior, a letter that has been signed off on by Stafford County Commissioners, the USD 350 Board of Education and Stafford County Economic Development, officials urge the secretary to seek a balanced approach to managing wildlife and private property concerns.

There is no time line for a decision to be made.

Even though Stafford County is in the center of the debate, irrigators in Barton, Edwards, Pratt, Rice, Kiowa, Reno and Pawnee Counties will also be affected by the final ruling.