We are in Southwest Kansas, and there's not enough water; moving water to the area is a long-shot option

Ogallala Aquifer map by U.S. Geological Survey
Map by Emma Brown, The Wall Street Journal

"When the well is dry, we know the worth of water." --Benjamin Franklin

Increasingly arid states across the country agree with Franklin, and Kansas is no exception. "Southwest Kansas officials have long pushed a moonshot aqueduct project to send Missouri River water across the state to their region, where a $12.5 billion agricultural economy relies on a dwindling Ogallala Aquifer," reports Shannon Najmabadi of The Wall Street Journal. "In Kansas, where federal data shows that nearly every county was experiencing some level of drought at the end of 2022, water is among the most urgent issues facing the state legislature this year."

Despite the expense and hefty challenges, other states have completed "projects that move water to fuel development or to irrigate crops. . . . . states such as Arizona and California. The Kansas aqueduct would be farther east—reflecting spreading concern about water scarcity amid a changing climate and growing population centers," Najmabadi writes. "The Arizona state legislature in 2021 asked Congress to study a plan to transport Mississippi River floodwaters to the Colorado River, upon which seven states rely."

Najmabadi explains, "U.S. Army Corps of Engineers first assessed the feasibility for a Kansas aqueduct in 1982, as part of a federal study looking at ways to supplement the Ogallala Aquifer . . . . A 2015 update of the study estimated it would cost between $5 billion and $20 billion to build the concrete-lined canal system and up to $522 million in annual energy. . . . Proponents of the Kansas aqueduct say it is needed to sustain the economy of the state's southwest . . . . Opponents say the idea is too expensive . . . .The Ogallala Aquifer lies under parts of eight central U.S. states, running from South Dakota to Texas. It adds $3.8 billion to the value of the land in western Kansas, one 2022 study found."

"Blake Brownie Wilson, with the Kansas Geological Survey, says 80% to 90% of the aquifer's water in Kansas goes to irrigation," Najmabodi reports. "About 30% of it had been pumped as of 2013. Another 39% was expected to be gone by 2063 given current rates of use." Clay Scott, who is a member of the board for the Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District and a proponent of the aqueduct plan, told Najambodi, "We will continue to dry up the infrastructure for feed yards and dairies and grain elevators and cotton gins. . . . We can't afford to wait any longer."

Najmabodi adds, "The project remains a long shot. Kansas lawmakers this year are focused on bills aimed at promoting conservation and dedicating tax revenue to water projects."