IWI-Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact

• Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact

  The Compact Commission is composed of three Commissioners appointed by the Governor of Kansas, three Commissioners appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma, and is chaired by a federal representative appointed by the President of the United States. The current Commissioners are:

  Kansas
  Earl Lewis, Chief Engineer of the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources
  Ponka-We Victors of Wichita, Kansas
  Lisa French of Partridge, Kansas

  Oklahoma
  Julie Cunningham, Director of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board
  Ross Kirtley of Mustang, Oklahoma
  Bryce Benson of Alva, Oklahoma

  United States
  Federal Commissioner: Earnie Gilder of Muskogee, Oklahoma
  Alternate Federal Commissioner: Chuck Shively of Coffeyville, Kansas

  The Compact provides for a maximum amount of “new conservation storage” to be constructed within the lower Arkansas River basin. Conservation storage is that portion of active reservoir storage capacity that exceeds 100 acre-feet in reservoirs constructed after July 1, 1963. The following table illustrates the conservation storage allocations and the remaining storage allocations as of March 26, 2010.

  Arkansas River Subbasin	Conservation Storage Allocation	Remaining Storage Allocation
  Grand-Neosho River sub-basin	650,000 acre-feet	513,028 acre-feet
  Verdigris River sub-basin	300,000 acre-feet	1,214,930 acre-feet1
  Main stem Arkansas River basin	600,000 acre-feet	598,515 acre-feet
  Salt Fork Arkansas River sub-basin	300,000 acre-feet	295,967 acre-feet
  Cimarron River sub-basin in Kansas	5,000 acre-feet	5,000 acre-feet
  Cimarron River sub-basin in Oklahoma	5,000 acre-feet	5,000 acre-feet

  ¹The Verdigris River sub-basin has an allocation greater than originally allocated by the Compact because it has been credited additional storage as a result of conservation storage constructed in Oklahoma.

  The Compact Commission monitors streamflow and water quality at several locations throughout the basin and tabulates new conservation storage that has been constructed in the various sub-basins of the lower Arkansas River. Currently, none of the sub-basins in Kansas are close to approaching their allocated storage capacities.

  Page last updated July 1, 2022.

• Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact History

   

  The 1955 Congress passed Public Law 340, giving consent to Kansas and Oklahoma to negotiate and enter into a compact to apportion the waters of the lower Arkansas River and its tributaries. On March 13, 1956, the first meeting of the Arkansas River Compact Committee took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In the early stages of what were to be 26 meetings of the Committee, it formed the Engineering and Legal Subcommittees.

  The Committees researched all existing historical hydrologic data throughout the basin and concluded that streamflows were highly erratic. Even in areas of the highest rainfall, streamflows ranged from zero or near zero to very high maximums. The Committee concluded that this condition demanded that reservoirs be constructed to regulate streamflows and sought to obtain as much conservation storage space as possible within reasonable economic and sociopolitical limits.

  The conservation storage allocations that were ultimately agreed upon for the sub-basins within the Compact area were based on streamflows that occurred during the 1952-1957 drought and the projected needs in the year 2000. The Committee agreed that storage allocations should provide flexibility and allow for unforeseen circumstances, especially for Kansas, the upstream state. Therefore, “escalator clauses” were placed in each sub-basin allocation to allow an increase in storage capacity in Kansas as new storage capacity is constructed in the downstream state, Oklahoma. The Committee concluded that the Compact should contain provisions to ensure that federal storage—reservoir storage not provided at state or local expense—be operated in the best interest of both states.

  The Committee believed that the existing streamflow gaging stations located near the state line were adequate for present needs and their operation should be continued. The Committee also found that the water of the river and its tributaries was of good mineral quality at or near the state line and that chemical quality data collection should be continued. At the 1973 Committee Meeting, the Engineering Committee was instructed to include state line streamflow data in the Annual Reports for the Arkansas, Caney, Chikaskia, Cimarron, Grand-Neosho, Verdigris and Salt Fork Arkansas Rivers. Since 1974, the Engineering Committee has included water quality data from available state line stations, as well as new or replaced conservation storage, in its Annual Reports.

  In 1996, the Compact Commission requested that the Engineering Committee evaluate the then-current level of streamflow data and water quality data provided to the Commission and determine whether it was sufficient for Compact needs. The Engineering Committee recommended that the then-current level of hydrologic and water quality data was sufficient. This level of reporting continues.

   

• Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact Documents

  Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact, 1966
  
  Rules and Regulations, Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact
      -Per the 41st Annual Report (2008) and last amended on July 28, 1999
  
  2015 KOARC Meeting Documents

  • 2015 KOARC Report

  2014 KOARC Meeting Documents

  • 2014 Meeting Notice
  • 2014 Meeting Agenda
  • Kansas Commissioners' Report
  • Oklahoma Commissioners' Report
  • Budgets, Fiscal Years 2015-2016
  • Treasurer's Report, Fiscal Year 2014
  • 2014 KOARC Fund Audit
  • Engineering Committee Report
  • 2014 KOARC Directory

  2013 Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Commission Annual Meeting Documents

  • 2013 Meeting Minutes

  2012 Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Commission Annual Meeting Documents

  • 2012 KOARC Report

  2010 Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Commission Annual Meeting Documents

  • 2010 Meeting Agenda
  • 2010 KOARC Directory
  • 2009 Meeting Minutes (DRAFT)
  • Resolution Pertaining to William E. Franklin
  • Kansas Commissioners' Report
  • Oklahoma Commissioners' Report
  • 2009 KOARC Report
  • Treasurer's Report, Fiscal Year 2010
  • 2009 KOARC Fund Audit
  • Engineering Committee Report 
  • US Geological Survey Summary Sheet
  • US Bureau of Reclamation Activity Report