Concerns about changes in the Kansas River are driving a study of the 170-mile river, known as the Kaw, which is one of the state’s major natural resources.

The Kansas Water Office has put together a team of representatives of federal and state agencies to analyze previous studies that dealt with degradation of the river’s streambed and banks.

In June, the office will request that its advisory arm – the Kansas Water Authority – agrees to a more in-depth study.

“We hope to have enough information that the Kansas Water Authority will go for the second part of the study,” said Bob McDaneld, a river basin planner with the water office.

The review of previous studies focuses on major causes of degradation, including the existence of dams, sand dredging, and the effects on the Kansas River of degradation in the Missouri River.

McDaneld said the study was prompted by two requests.

One was from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for input from the state on sand dredging permits that are up for renewal.

The other was a request from a basin advisory committee after changes in the river had resulted in problems with taking in water by a major water supplier in Johnson County.

Last year, the water level from the Kaw fell below an intake pipe for Water District No. 1 of Johnson County.

Tom Schrempp, director of production for the water district, said the problem was caused by a change in water flow that caused damage to a rock jetty. The cost to fix the jetty was $1.4 million, he said.

“It was a major, emergency repair project,” he said, although it didn’t disrupt service to the nearly 400,000 customers it serves in eastern Johnson County.

But talk of studying the Kansas River has political overtones in the conflict between environmentalists, who want to expand recreational uses on the river, and sand dredging operations.

Each year, about 1.8 million tons of sand is taken from the Kansas River, with much of it removed from the river bed through hydraulic dredging operations at several sites.

The high-quality sand is a primary source of aggregate for cement that is used in construction projects in the Kansas City area.