Brownback To Move Forward With Water Vision

The administration of Gov. Sam Brownback is moving forward on a plan for the state’s long-term water supply.

The more ambitious parts of the plan include dredging state lakes and possibly building an aqueduct from the Missouri River to western Kansas. They would require large amounts of new revenue, as well as cooperation from other states.

During a meeting of the governor’s Council of Economic Advisers last week, Agriculture Secretary Jackie McClaskey asked for help forming a panel to come up with options for long-term funding of the plan.

In western Kansas, farm irrigation is depleting the underground Ogallala Aquifer. In some counties, irrigation has been forced to halt entirely.