In 1996 the Kansas Legislature passed the Water Assurance Program Act. The act provided the foundation for the forming of three river water assurance districts in Kansas. The State of Kansas over the years has acquired water rights to store water in Federal Reservoirs, and subsequently marketed that stored water to industries and municipalities. In the case of Assurance Districts, a group of municipalities and industries who have rights to water from a river below Federal Reservoirs pool their resources to purchase storage space in the reservoirs. The storage space and the water contained within that space is used or released to assure that the members of the District will have enough water to meet their demands. Before any district is formed, the chief engineer of the Division of Water Resources determines which municipal and industrial water right holders would benefit from water released from assurance district storage. The Division of Water Resources is charged by statute to protect such releases from diversion by non-members.
Kansas Water Office Water Assurance Program Fact Sheet
Process for forming a Water Assurance District
There are currently three assurance districts in Kansas:
The principal document for the organization and operations of an assurance district is the Operating Agreement. This is signed by the District President, the Kansas Water Office and the chief engineer, and is re-negotiated every five years.
See also K.A.R. 5-11-1 to 5-11-2, the chief engineer's implementing regulations for the Act.
Page last updated October 7, 2009