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Kansas Water Authority chooses to save Ogallala Aquifer instead of accepting 'planned depletion' [1]
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Date: 2022-12-16
For decades, Kansas accepted the fact that the Ogallala Aquifer would one day dry up. The Kansas Water Authority now wants to save it.
The Kansas Water Authority (KWA) voted 12-1 on Wednesday to chart a new course for the Ogallala Aquifer. For decades, the state accepted the fact that the Aquifer would one day dry up. Now, the KWA explicitly believes that “the policy of planned depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer is no longer in the best interest of [Kansas]” and will put that language in its annual report. The agency will begin a collaborative process with state and regional groups as well as stakeholders “to establish data-driven goals, metrics, and actions,” according to meeting notes.
Speaking with the Kansas Reflector, Kansas Water Office Director Connie Owen called the decision “historic.” The one person to vote against the change, Randy Hayzlett, told Kansas City NPR affiliate KCUR that he worried about the board going too far by explicitly stating the agency would help halt the aquifer’s depletion. “[Halt is] a pretty strong word and it’s going to affect a lot of people,” Hayzlett said. “Is it going to help declines in the aquifer? Or is it going to help the economies in western Kansas? Just what’s it gonna put a cap on?”
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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/12/16/2142225/-Kansas-Water-Authority-chooses-to-save-Ogallala-Aquifer-instead-of-accepting-planned-depletion
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