Kansas Governor Laura Kelly said the state will be receiving $9 million in federal funds for two projects to reduce the impacts of the ongoing drought. The funding is from the federal Inflation Reduction Act.
The Kansas Equus Beds Aquifer Recharge, Storage, and Recovery Project near Wichita will receive $7 million. This is a critical supply for more than 20% of municipal, industrial, and irrigation water users in Kansas. When fully implemented, the Equus project will recharge the Equus Beds Aquifer, providing water to Wichita at a rate of up to 100 million gallons per day. The project has taken excess water from the Little Arkansas River and pumped it into the aquifer, which is now 94 percent full. Wichita’s new water treatment plant, which goes online next year, will be able to handle more water from the Equus Beds.
The Kansas Voluntary Agreements Program was selected to receive $2 million for the state-implemented Kansas Water Transition Assistance Program in either the Prairie Dog Creek or Rattlesnake Creek Basins. The program will conserve approximately 10,000 acre-feet by rotating temporary land fallowing or permanently retiring water rights.
Governor Kelly had advocated for federal water funding to be extended into Kansas to help family farms and ranches, small towns, and wildlife avoid the severe impacts of drought.
This announcement builds upon previous investments of almost $33 million from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for aging infrastructure, water recycling, and WaterSMART projects in Kansas.
