County Drought Stage Declarations
Drought Emergency:
Barber, Barton, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cheyenne, Clark, Comanche, Cowley, Decatur, Edwards, Ellis, Ellsworth, Finney, Ford, Gove, Graham, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Hamilton, Harper, Harvey, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearny, Kingman, Kiowa, Lane, Lincoln, Logan, Lyon, Meade, Morton, Ness, Norton, Pawnee, Pratt, Rawlins, Reno, Rice, Rush, Russell, Scott, Sedgwick, Seward, Sheridan, Sherman, Stafford, Stanton, Stevens, Sumner, Thomas, Trego, Wallace, Wichita
Drought Warning: Cherokee, Cloud, Coffey, Crawford, Dickinson, Douglas, Elk, Greenwood, Jewell, Labette, Marion, McPherson, Mitchell, Montgomery, Morris, Neosho, Osage, Osborne, Ottawa, Phillips, Rooks, Republic, Saline, Smith, Washington, Wilson
Drought Watch: Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Brown, Clay, Doniphan, Franklin, Geary, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Marshall, Miami, Nemaha, Pottawatomie, Riley, Shawnee, Wabaunsee, Woodson, Wyandotte
According to the Kansas Drought Operations Plan, the stages are basically defined as:
• A “Watch” is an alert that water conditions warrant watching, supplies should be evaluated.
• A “Warning” is an alert that water conditions are worsening, supplies should be evaluated, especially for water suppliers, but also other water users.
• An “Emergency” is an alert that water conditions are severe, supplies should be re-evaluated. This stage provides opportunities for emergency water supplies.
Other than the county-wide burn ban, few people in Barton County have come to terms with just how desperately dry the region really is, Barton County Emergency Manager Amy Miller said.
“I do not know if everyone realizes how serious the drought situation is for Barton County and the State of Kansas,” she said. The Governor originally declared a Drought Emergency in July 2012 for all 105 counties in Kansas and drought conditions are still continuing throughout the state.
But, despite recent rains, these conditions have only worsened. Last week, Governor Sam Brownback updated the Drought Declaration for Kansas counties with Executive Order 14-04. The update includes all 105 counties either in an emergency, warning or watch status. This order places more than half of Kansas counties in an emergency drought status, including Barton.
“The long range forecasts indicate that drought conditions will continue in certain areas of the state at least through August,” Miller said. Just last month a dust storm in Barton County caused roadways to be closed.
For now, Barton County’s burn ban remains in place. However, Miller said she has not hear of cities in Barton County doing anything to conserve water.
And, although it is probably too late for rain make significant improvements to the 2014 wheat crop, the drought is still critical for spring planted crops.
“Kansans need to know no matter where you live in the state, the drought is not over,” Brownback said. “Some areas have been experiencing drought for almost five years.”
Continued below normal precipitation patterns are not only depleting the little soil moisture the state has left, but is resulting in below normal levels in our reservoirs and further decline of stream flow conditions.
The updated drought declaration has moved 26 counties into a warning status and 23 into a watch status while 56 counties are in emergency status. This action was recommended by Tracy Streeter, director of the Kansas Water Office and Chair of the Governor’s Drought Response Team.
“It is imperative we closely monitor conditions for the state as they could deteriorate quickly with no reserves as we start to enter warmer and drier months,” Streeter said. “Some areas of Kansas are behind more than seven inches in soil moisture and the seasonal outlook shows increased drought conditions shifting farther east than originally projected.”
Counties still in emergency stage remain eligible for emergency use of water from certain state fishing lakes due to the KWO Memorandum of Understanding with the Kansas Department of Wildlife.
Individuals and communities need to contact KWO for a water supply request prior to any withdrawals from lakes. They will in turn be referred to the appropriate KDWPT office to obtain the necessary permit to withdraw the water.
This Executive Order shall remain in effect for those counties so identified until rescinded by Executive Order or superseded by a subsequent Executive Order revising the drought stage status of the affected counties. Effective immediately:
• Declare a Drought Emergency, Warning or Drought Watch for the counties identified below;
• Authorize and direct all agencies under the jurisdiction of the Governor to implement the appropriate watch or warning level-drought response actions assigned in the Operations Plan of the Governor’s Drought Response Team.
For more detailed information about current conditions, see the Kansas Climate Summary and Drought Report on the Kansas Water Office website at www.kwo.org.
