Another hot and dry year has us thinking about water – yours, mine and ours. We need it for crops and livestock; we need it to stay alive. We want it for recreation, and for pretty green lawns.
We also want it to rain so there will be fewer unintentional fires, and so that controlled fires – and even the July 4 fireworks that Great Bend put on hold – can be safely accomplished. Good news was announced on the latter this week: There will be a professional fireworks display the night of Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Great Bend Municipal Airport. That will be part of the “Bikes, Bombers & Butterflies” weekend. Residents of several Barton County cities are still waiting for a date when they can set off individual fireworks with the official blessing of the law, however.
Clearly, water issues concern us all, but they are especially critical for farmers and ranchers. Barton County Farm Bureau has announced a meeting for irrigators and irrigated land owners set for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11, in the Kansas Room at Perkins Family Restaurant, 2920 10th St., in Great Bend. David Barfield, chief engineer of the Kansas Division of Water Resources, will speak and answer questions concerning the multi-year flex account program for irrigators’ water rights. This year the Legislature made changes to the program that will allow many water right holders to use more than their annual authorized quantity, if they can stay in the total limits over a five-year period.
Droughts will come and go, but water issues will always be with us. New technology, education and laws will all be needed to sustain us in the future.