|
 Tracy Streeter, director of the Kansas Water Office, told
legislators the study would begin next year and take about 18 months
to complete. Officials envision diverting as much as 4 million acre
feet of water and sending it west to help support irrigated farming
of corn and other crops.
Streeter said it's likely other states will try to allocate some of
the Missouri's flow in coming years. The river begins in Montana and
travels through North Dakota and South Dakota, and along the borders
of Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas. After it reaches the Kansas
City area, the river moves east to St. Louis, where it meets up with
the Mississippi.
"There probably will be a play on the river. Kansas may want to be
part of it," he said.
How much the aqueduct would cost is to be determined. A study in
1982 pegged the price at $3.6 billion to construct a system
beginning near White Cloud near the Nebraska border and terminating
near Utica in the west.
Kansas does not have a compact with other states regarding use of
the Missouri River.
State Rep. Sharon Schwartz, a Washington Republican, said she had
concerns about the project in future years and how farmers would pay
for using the water if grain prices fell and they couldn't afford to
use the water. She also questioned the legal bills that could ensue
if other states sue to block Kansas' access to the water. "I start to think about this and probably the devil will be in the
details," she said. "It's important to look at all options. I'll try
to keep my mind open."
[to top of second column] |
Streeter said the goal would to do little or no harm to states
downstream that rely on the Missouri River for navigation, including
those along the Mississippi.
Kansas farmers currently rely on the Ogallala Aquifer, which
sustains agriculture and municipal water needs throughout the Great
Plains region. However, Mark Rude, executive director of the
Groundwater Management District No. 3 in southwest Kansas, said the
current use of the Ogallala for agriculture was unsustainable to
maintain existing farming activities. He estimated that every acre
of irrigated land taken out of production cost the state economy
$3,911.
[Associated
Press; JOHN MILBURN]
Copyright 2013 The Associated
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