By Sherman Smith and Morgan Chilson, Kansas Reflector
HAYS — The leaders of the state’s new Water Program Task Force say they are committed to finding elusive solutions to the state’s long-simmering water crisis.
Sen. Kenny Titus, a Republican attorney from Wamego, and Rep. Jim Minnix, a Republican farmer from Scott City who chairs the House Water Committee, appeared alongside Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly at a ceremony in Hays to outline their vision for the task force. The two lawmakers will co-chair a bipartisan group that includes business leaders and conservationists.
Their mission: Evaluate risks to water quality and quantity, build a management system that addresses those risks, and secure a dedicated revenue source to ensure the plan, like so many before, doesn’t just sit on a shelf.
“No big deal, of course,” Titus joked as he addressed a crowd that gathered on July 9 at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History to celebrate the passage of House Bill 2172, which established the task force.
“Our current challenges did not arise overnight, nor have they arisen from a lack of past efforts to address them,” Titus said.
He recalled efforts in recent history to address the state’s water crisis, including a previous task force, proposed restructuring of state agencies, increased funding for the state water plan, infrastructure investments, and “countless meetings and discussions.”
“But the problems have always been complex and long term,” Titus said. “Simple solutions have been elusive. We have in many cases talked the problems to death, and it’s been done generation after generation, and here we are with challenges persisting.”
The task force’s job, he said, is to build upon past plans “and help set a clear course for the state’s future.”
Minnix said his hope is for the task force to “lay out a plan” in the next several years “to improve things dramatically.”
“I have full faith that we as Kansans can come together in a nonpartisan way and work on issues of water — and there’s a lot of things to work on, folks,” Minnix said.
At the ceremony, he had the responsibility of introducing the governor, but he had been busy with harvest and hadn’t prepared remarks about her.
Still, he set aside for a moment the “really pretty press release” her office had given him to read, and instead told the crowd know how much he enjoyed working with the governor.
“I really appreciate that she’s very genuine, has a good sense of humor, puts up with a lot of things there in Topeka,” Minnix said.
Kelly, who said later that she felt the same way about Minnix, reminded the crowd in Hays of the challenges the state faces, and the importance of the task force.
The challenges include stabilizing the Ogallala Aquifer, reducing sediment in reservoirs, and ensuring access to reliable and safe drinking water and wastewater systems.
Some areas of the state have less than 25 years of usable water left, and 150 communities are at or above acceptable nitrate levels in drinking water, the governor said.
“These problems are here and now, and if we don’t act, they’re only going to get worse, and perhaps beyond repair,” Kelly said.
She said the task force is about more than just “creating a plan.”
“Plans tend to sit on shelves,” Kelly said. “This is about creating a funded, coordinated system of management that will set us up for the future, protect our communities and strengthen our economy.”
She pointed to Hays as a leader in implementing “an all hands on deck approach to water conservation.”
Hays Mayor Sandy Jacobs said city residents consume just 65% of the statewide average of water per capita. She praised the water task force as a way to address “critical challenges” surrounding water quality, conservation and management.
“Here in Hays, we understand firsthand how vital water is in our communities, our economy and our future for agriculture to infrastructure to environmental health,” Jacobs said.
The city for three decades has been mired in bureaucratic and legal wrangling over a plan to pipe water from a ranch in a neighboring county. Meanwhile, Jacobs said, the city voluntarily reduced its water supply by 30%, implemented a rebate program for water-saving toilets and appliances, hired the first water conservation specialist, and has educated elementary school children on “the benefits of using water wisely.”
Educational outreach efforts include support for a 4-H water ambassador program for teens and an annual poster contest that now draws 600 entries.
Holly Dickman, water conservation specialist for Hays, said the poster contest, which draws youth and adult entries, is one of the ways she educates the community about water conservation.
“You have to talk about it constantly to get the message out,” Dickman said.
She said Hays has been working to conserve water since the early 1990s while other communities are just getting started.
“We’re very conscientious about water use here,” Dickman said. “We actually get asked from other communities about how we do things, about some of our programs.”
The 4-H water ambassador initiative draws youths to learn more about water conservation and help educate others, said Jonas Kern, 17. He was a member of the group of teens who started the program, all from Barton and Ellis counties.
He and his brother, Russell Kern, 16, are ambassadors and understand the importance of water conservation after working on their family’s Barton County large-scale vegetable farm. In the ambassador program, they visit other areas to learn about challenges.
“We do a lot of programs presenting,” Jonas Kern said. “Last year, we went over to Garden City to learn about the different agriculture that they have to do there because it’s a lot drier than where I’m from in Barton County.”
Jonas Kern presented at the Governor’s Water Conference about the 4-H program and how other counties could start one. He’s interested in learning more as he plans for his future.
“I’m looking to maybe be a high school science teacher,” he said. “Water is one of the most important natural resources.”
