Kansas county drought stage declarations:
• Drought Emergency: Barber, Chautauqua, Clark, Comanche, Cowley, Finney, Grant, Gray, Hamilton, Harper, Haskell, Kearny, Meade, Montgomery, Morton, Seward, Stanton, Stevens and Sumner.
• Drought Warning: Barton, Butler, Cheyenne, Clay, Cloud, Decatur, Dickinson, Edwards, Elk, Ellis, Ellsworth, Ford, Geary, Gove, Graham, Greeley, Harvey, Hodgeman, Jewell, Kingman, Kiowa, Labette, Lane, Lincoln, Logan, Marion, Marshall, McPherson, Mitchell, Morris, Nemaha, Neosho, Ness, Norton, Osborne, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Pratt, Rawlins, Reno, Republic, Rice, Riley, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Saline, Scott, Sedgwick, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Stafford, Thomas, Trego, Wallace, Washington, Wichita and Wilson.
• Drought Watch: Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Brown, Chase, Cherokee, Coffey, Crawford, Doniphan, Douglas, Franklin, Greenwood, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Lyon, Miami, Osage, Shawnee, Wabaunsee, Woodson and Wyandotte.
TOPEKA – One day after the Barton County Commission let stand the countywide burn ban due to lingering dry conditions, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly Thursday approved updated drought declarations via executive order, placing all 105 Kansas counties either in watch, warning or emergency status.
Barton County joins 60 other counties under the drought warning category, the second-most severe classification. The drought declaration also placed 19 counties into an emergency status and 25 into a watch status.
This action was recommended by Connie Owen, director of the Kansas Water Office and chair of the Governor’s Drought Response Team.
“Kansas has continued to experience drier than normal conditions all across the state,” she said. Most areas have a departure from normal precipitation of more than three inches over the last six months.
“The majority of the state of Kansas has experienced drought or abnormally dry conditions for the past several months,” said Governor Kelly. “Unfortunately, these conditions are forecast to persist or get worse, so I strongly encourage Kansans to be mindful of drought conditions and work to minimize the threat of fires across the state.”
“We have watched drought conditions continue to get worse since this past fall or longer in some areas, causing concern with groundwater supplies, reservoirs, stream flow, crop production, elevated wildfire risk and more,” said Owen. “The Governor’s Drought Response Team will continue to monitor the situation and make recommendations to the Governor as necessary, as future outlooks call for drought conditions to persist as we enter spring.”
What does this mean?
According to KWO Communications Director Katie Patterson-Ingels, the declaration allows for the sharing of resources, the relaxing of some statutory restrictions and the activation of the National Guard. It also paves the way for sharing of information with local, state and federal agencies, as well as the general population. Effective immediately:
• Declaration of a Drought Emergency, Warning or Drought Watch for the counties identified is implemented.
• All agencies under the jurisdiction of the governor are directed to implement the appropriate response actions assigned in the drought team’s Operations Plan.
The Governor’s Drought Response Team will continue to watch the situation closely and work to minimize the effects the drought has on Kansans.
Through an interagency agreement between the Kansas Water Office, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and Kansas Division of Emergency Management, counties in emergency stage are eligible for emergency use of water from certain state fishing lakes. These counties also become eligible for water in some Federal reservoirs.
Individuals and communities need to contact the Kansas Water Office for a water supply request prior to any withdrawals from lakes. These requests will in turn be referred to the appropriate office to obtain necessary permits to withdraw requested water.
This order shall remain in effect for the counties until rescinded by executive order or superseded by a subsequent executive order revising the drought stage status of the affected counties.
The Governor’s Drought Response Team will continue to watch the situation closely and work to minimize the effects drought has on Kansans.
For more detailed information about current conditions, see the Kansas Climate Summary and Drought Report on the Kansas Water Office website at kwo.ks.gov.
How is this done?
The KWO is responsible for monitoring drought and notifying the governor on drought conditions. This monitoring relies on data compiled by several state and federal agencies including the Kansas Department of Agriculture, the Kansas State University Weather Data Library and the Applied Remote Sensing Program at the University of Kansas.
To gauge conditions, they tap precipitation, stream flow, reservoir levels, and soil, crop and vegetation conditions. They also consider the U.S. Drought Monitor and the Seasonal Drought Outlook prepared by the National Weather Service.
Around since the 1980s, the drought team is led by the KWO director and made up of representatives from 11 state and federal agencies. Its job is to advise the governor.
For more detailed information about current conditions, see the Kansas Climate Summary and Drought Report on the Kansas Water Office website at www.kwo.ks.gov.
Drought stages
• Watch: Impacts include some damage to crops and pastures, high rangeland fire danger and a growing threat of public water supply shortages. The Governor is notified and the Governor’s Drought Response Team assembled. Open outdoor burning bans may be imposed. Public water systems may ask for voluntary water use restrictions.
• Warning: Crop and pasture losses are likely with some stock water shortages and very high rangeland fire danger. Public water supply shortages may be present and some streamflow targets may not be met. Public water systems may impose mandatory water use restrictions. Urgent Kansas Water Marketing Program surplus water supply contracts can be authorized for municipal and industrial users. The Governor may request emergency haying and grazing authorization for Conservation Reserve program acres.
• Emergency: Widespread major crop and pasture losses are accompanied by stock water shortages and extreme rangeland fire danger.
Severe public water supply shortages are widespread with many streamflow targets not met. The Governor may declare an outdoor burning ban. Public water systems may impose additional mandatory water use restrictions. Emergency Kansas Water Marketing Program surplus water supply contracts can be authorized for municipal and industrial users. Emergency water withdrawals from Corps of Engineers reservoirs and state fishing lakes can be authorized. Corps of Engineers emergency water assistance to municipalities is available if needed.
The governor may request a USDA Secretarial disaster designation for drought.
