Two-thirds of Kansans depend on reservoirs for their water supply. And the manmade bodies of water provide flood control and recreation. The reservoirs were built to last 50 to 100 years. Half of them have reached the 40- to 60-year mark. As water grows more scarce nationwide, what will Kansas do? Rep. Tom Sloan, who spearheaded the recent Kansas Reservoir Summit, takes your questions.

hunterscrossing

Huge amounts of money has been invested in land treatment and yet the sediment continues to encroach. Why?

Moderator

Thanks everyone for joining today’s chat on sediment build-up in our state’s reservoirs. I’m Christine Metz and I’ll be the moderator. We have State Rep. Tom Sloan with us to answer your questions. Thanks for coming Tom. Do you want to get started by briefly explaining what the state is facing when it comes to our reservoirs?

Tom Sloan

Thank you Christine and I look forward to questions from our community members. The Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation constructed reservoirs in KS with 100 year productive life expectancies. Those reservoirs (e.g., Clinton, Perry, Milford, Tuttle, John Redmond) are approximately 50 years old. While I will not be alive when the reservoirs reach their design life expectancies, millions of Kansans will and will continue to need the flood control, drinking water supplies, and recreational opportunities afforded by the reservoirs/lakes.

Moderator

Thanks for that explanation. Now, let’s get started with the questions.

stullamerica

Instead of new reservoirs as a first resort, would you instead recommend other measures such as conservation and efficiency (mandatory low flow fixtures in new homes or upon resale of existing homes, and encouraging graywater irrigation systems, xeriscape landscaping, and other measures) instead of construction of expensive reservoirs that have a relatively short useful life, that take prime ag land out of production, and that cause irreparable damage to streams and rivers and wildlife habitat? And if a reservoir is constructed, would you support a requirement that the users of that reservoir commit in advance to pay for it and to purchase and treat the water rather than requiring the general public to pay for it?

Tom Sloan

StullAmerica, It is very unlikely that new reservoirs will be constructed in Kansas or most other places in the midwest. The most logical locations already have dams/reservoirs and, as you note, the destruction of habitat, farm ground, etc. makes it difficult to secure the necessary approvals from the public and government agencies. Similarly, raising the height of existing dams is generally not a feasible option as increased flooding upstream will result.

You are correct that water conservation practices should become more prevalent in order to extend the productive uses of our water. As the Kansas Biological Survey staff note, however, even if no humans lived in Kansas, our lakes and reservoirs would fill up with sediment. We must manage the water consumption wisely and extend the lives of those water impoundments.

seeengle

I’ve read that you plan to introduce legislation next session regarding Kansas reservoirs. Could you please elaborate on this legislation?

Tom Sloan

Seeengle, The legislation that I propose will focus on two separate fronts: 1) federal policies and 2) state options.

Currently, the Corps of Engineers’ mission is to construct and operate dams/reservoirs. The time has come for them to focus more on operating and sustaining the reservoirs. To that end, I will introduce a Resolution to Congress and the Corps to change their mission priorities. Specifically, we will ask that money paid by the State of Kansas for water storage capacity be reallocated to extending the lives of the reservoirs.

At the state level, the Corps releases water from many of the reservoirs to float barge traffic on the Missouri River. Governors have tried to change that policy, but it has been blocked by the Missouri Congressional delegation members. The only way to prevent such releases is for the state to purchase the remaining water storage capacity in the reservoirs. I will have a bill to accomplish that objective with a goal of keeping the water for our domestic use.

Brmstr

What do you feel is the biggest obstacle in Legislative Action to help manage/preserve Kansas water resources?

Tom Sloan

Brmstr: Before I respond to your question, I want to present a little more information. Water, education opportunities, and energy will define our state’s future. Most legislative sessions we “fight” over the allocation of money for education funding from pre-kindergarten to KU. Energy is increasingly contentious and water issues will be also because there are no simple or “cheap” solutions.

Requiring people to use less water will not be popular; nor will increasing the cost of that water. Legislators respond to two things: pressure from voters to make an issue a priority, and the desire to be re-elected. When voters make long term water availability at affordable cost a priority, so too will a majority of legislators.

If no action is taken by the Legislature and Corps of Engineers for the next 10 years, we still will have adequate drinking water supplies, flood control, and recreational opportunities. However, siltation will continue to fill the reservoirs, taste and odor problems will increase, storage capacity (for flood control and droughts) will decline, and the cost of addressing those issues will mount quickly. A poor analogy is that if you have termites attack your house, you can ignore the problem for awhile; but the cost and consequences of that inaction continue to mount.

hunterscrossing

Water supply systems do not contribute to siltation. Why would you propose to tax them more to solve the problem?

Tom Sloan

Hunterscrossing: According to the Kansas Water Office, State Conservation Commission, U.S. Geological Survey, “upstream” practices like terracing farm ground, planting buffer zones along stream banks, etc. have significantly reduced water run-off and the resultant loss of topsoil. However, as the KS Biological Survey noted, even if no humans lived in KS our lakes would fill because of the nature of our soil. The primary inflow of sediment comes from major rain storms that overwhelm the upstream barriers.

Currently, every water user pays 3 cents per 1,000 gallons of water purchased at retail (this is less than the sales tax on a bottle of water purchased at the grocery store). That money goes to the Clean Drinking Water Supply Fund and is used to do cost-share projects with cities to extend the lives of the small municipal drinking water lakes.

All persons who use the reservoirs (drinking water, recreation, and flood control benefits) will have to help pay for the reservoirs’ preservation. The key will be to enact the least cost and most equitable system. Costs will be lower to sustain the reservoirs if actions are begun before a crisis exists.

hipper_than_hip

What is the position of the COE regarding the silting problems at our reservoirs?

Tom Sloan

Hipper_than_hip: Last February I met with the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) John Paul Woodley – he oversees the Corps of Engineers – and asked what their plans were to deal with the sedimentation problems in Kansas’ reservoirs. I mentioned that the reservoirs were constructed with 100 year life expectancies and they are now in middle age. His answer was: We generally do not discuss that subject, but probably should.”

Mr. Woodley came to Kansas earlier this month and headlined the Kansas Reservoir Summit. With him he brought leaders from the Tulsa and KC Corps of Engineer offices to meet with 100 Kansas water policy stakeholders. The leader of the Corps (Mr. Woodley) understands the issues and their importance. He has directed his staff members to work with us. I am in the process of communicating with our Congressional delegation members to work for changes in the Corps’ enabling legislation. One example of the necessary changes would be reallocating money paid by the State of Kansas for water storage capacity to reservoir sustainment practices.

Moderator

Thanks everyone for posting some great questions today. We’ve got a couple more minutes to chat, so if you have any questions, post them now.

max1

According to their fact sheet, Tuttle Creek Reservoir has accumulated 179,850 acre-ft of sediment, which is 35% of its multipurpose-pool volume. Mapping shows the depth of that sediment is more than 36′ deep in some parts of the original river channel near the mouth of Fancy Creek, and I believe the last time it was measure was in the year 2000, so how much additional sediment do you suppose has accumulated due to the lengthy flooding and water impoundments in 1993 and this year?

Tom Sloan

Max1: I do not have the information that you request at my finger tips (I am at the LJW office). Obviously the answer is that sediment continues to grow in Tuttle Creek, Perry, Clinton, etc. If you contact the KS Biological Survey staff, they should be able to provide a more scientific answer to your question. You may have noted today’s newspaper coverage of the Survey’s work at Kannopolis Reservoir; they are doing the same thing at most of the state’s lakes and reservoirs. That data will help the Corps of Engineers and Kansas’ policy-makers prioritize our efforts to develop sustainable reservoir policies.

50YearResident

With the Perry Lake and others badly silted in can you prevent the releasing of thousands of Cu ft per minute of water to float barges on the Mississippi River?

Tom Sloan

50yearresident: As I noted above in response to a previous question, Kansas Governors and our Congressional delegation members have tried to get Congress to change the Corps of Engineers’ mandate to float barges on the Missouri River using water from our reservoirs. Those changes in law and policy have been thwarted by Missouri’s Congressional delegation members.

The only way that we can prevent such releases is to call all of the remaining water storage capacity of our reservoirs “into service.” That means the State of Kansas has uses for that water (thereby preventing releases to float barges), but it also means that we must pay for that storage. Again, a question of priorities – do we not spend the money, but allow the water to be “lost” to us; or do we pay the cost and retain the water for our beneficial use. I support Kansans controlling our own destiny and water.

Moderator

Well, that’s all for today. Thank you readers for posting questions and thank you Tom for answering them.

Tom Sloan

Christine, Thank you for the opportunity to communicate with our community’s members on this important issue. Lawrence and Douglas County’s future are tied to the availability of water and that water’s quality. Most of the questions and my responses have focused on quantity of water, but sedimentation also adversely impacts water quality. Probably a topic for another day. Thank you again for the opportunity and our readers’ interest.