2007 Summer Conference

The 2007 KWC Summer Conference was held Thursday and Friday, August 2 & 3 in the Rhatigan Student Center on the campus of Wichita State University.  The 4th Annual Summer Conference featured presentations on a number of statewide and local Wichita area water related issues.  Panelists this year included Secretary Adrian Polansky, Chairman of Appropriations Sharon Schwartz, Minority Leader Dennis McKinney, Prof. John Peck of KU Law, and former Speaker of the House Robin Jennison, to name a few.

Kansas Water Congress...

An important strategy for progress is first to realize that great institutions are seldom built by giant leaps, but rather by small steps taken consistently in the same direction, and that vision of what ought to be is a requirement of progress and leadership.  Reality often requires a second and even a third opinion, and that diversity in people and ideas is a cornerstone of organizational strength.  And finally, a critical correlative benefit of the consensus of "common enlightenment and understanding," is the creation of a strong sense of unity and community.  The Kansas Water Congress can provide the vehicle and forum for unity of purpose and objectives in supporting the formation and execution of a stable water policy for a unified Kansas.

Legislative Update:

Smaller CREP Passes the Kansas Legislature

April 4, 2007

As legislators negotiated late into the evening hours on Tuesday, April 3 they finally reached agreement and included a scaled back version of the initial CREP proposal in HB 2368.  The approved CREP appears modest when compared to the initial proposal of a 100,000 acre CREP leveraging $5 million in state money that was supported by the Kansas Water Congress.  The final version allows for the enrollment of 20,000 acres in each of the next two years with $1 million in state dollars allotted for each enrollment year.

The bill is not available yet in its final form, but it appears that water rights holders in the Upper Ark corridor will be eligible to participate in the program.  If this bill is signed by the Governor it will require additional negotiation between the Kansas Water Office and USDA officials due to the change in the size and scope of the project.

 A full history of HB 2368 (and the original CREP Bill, SB 123) can be found at www.kslegislature.org by entering the bill number in the "Track A Bill" section found on the right hand side of the Kansas Legislature's website.