In response to declining groundwater levels in McPherson County, the Board of Directors of the Equus Beds Groundwater Management District No. 2 (GMD 2) requested that the Chief Engineer initiate the Intensive Groundwater Use Control Area (IGUCA) process in February 1979. A public hearing was held in September 1979, and the IGUCA order was issued in March 1980. The order defined a control area and imposed two main corrective controls: (1) that the IGUCA area shall be closed to new appropriations excepting domestic, temporary and short-term permits and (2) that water flow meters shall be installed on all groundwater wells excepting domestic and temporary wells.

Pursuant to K.A.R. 5-20-2, each of the eight IGUCA orders in effect before July 1, 2008 must be formally reviewed in a process that includes a public hearing conducted by the Chief Engineer. While a brief summary of the history of the McPherson IGUCA has been provided below, the 1980 McPherson IGUCA Order itself is also available and should be referred to for details of the hearing conclusions and corrective control provisions.

In 2016, DWR conducted a formal review of the March 28, 1980 order establishing the McPherson IGUCA. The purpose of the review was to determine whether excessive groundwater level declines were still occurring in the area, whether the rate of groundwater withdrawal in the area still exceeded the rate of recharge and whether the public interest required that the IGUCA designation be continued, and if so, whether there should there be any adjustment to the IGUCA boundaries or corrective control provisions.
 
DWR, in cooperation with GMD 2, developed the McPherson IGUCA Review Report, which was admitted to the record of the public review hearing conducted by the Chief Engineer in October 2016 in Hutchinson, KS. Oral and written testimony from DWR, GMD 2, and the McPherson Board of Public Utilities were presented at the hearing, and the Chief Engineer left the hearing record open for further submittal of written testimony through December 2, 2016, at which time the hearing record was closed.