Drought raises water as gubernatorial political issue

? Images of cracked, parched ground and shriveled crops have been persistent and vivid enough this year to inject water issues into the governor’s race.

Republican Tim Shallenburger and Democrat Kathleen Sebelius agree the state faces serious water conservation issues. Each says the state must be more active in finding solutions and establishing comprehensive policies to save water.

Shallenburger talks about tax breaks to boost water conservation efforts, particularly among farmers and ranchers. He says he doesn’t want the state trying to limit irrigation.

Sebelius has been less specific, suggesting she’d convene discussions about water, include agricultural groups and make sure policy wasn’t dictated from Topeka.

Neither sees state government having much ability to deal with drought-related problems in the short-term.

“There’s not anything we can do about it right now,” Shallenburger said recently.

In a separate interview, Sebelius said: “We just have to get down on our knees and pray it rains.”

By the end of July, Graves had put 83 counties under a drought warning, meaning water shortages are present, with the other 22 counties facing the possibility of those conditions.

As of mid-September, the Kansas Water Office reported that extreme drought conditions were present in the Upper Republican and Solomon river basins in northwest and north-central Kansas. It also reported serious drought conditions in the adjacent Kansas-Lower Republican, Smoky Hill-Saline and Upper Arkansas basins.

Shallenburger has said the state needs a comprehensive agriculture plan to deal with water because most water is used for agriculture.

Sebelius said the drought has put water issues on the agenda and created an opportunity to develop a comprehensive state policy.

But reaching agreement on specific policies can be difficult, especially because legislators from the drier western part of the state worry about water restrictions hurting the economy, as well.

When asked about water policy, Shallenburger talked about expensive but water-saving underground drip irrigation systems. Those systems, he said, show promise for cutting water use dramatically.

He said the state should give farmers tax credits to make installing such systems less expensive.

Sebelius acknowledged that many farmers worry that a zero depletion policy would be “a death knell” and said any policy must be balanced.

She said the state needs some “much overdue dialogue on how we move forward.”

“I think there isn’t an overall long-term strategy,” she said. “I think the drought has exacerbated that.”