Kansas Groundwater: What you need to know

Water rights: Kansas Statutes Annotated (KS Stat. Ann.) 82a-701 to 82a-738

Intensive Groundwater Use Control Areas (IGUCAs): Kansas Administrative Regulations (KAR) 5-20-1 and KAR 5-20-2

Multiyear Flex Accounts (MYFAs): KAR 5-16-1 to 5-16-7

Groundwater management districts: KS Stat. Ann. 82a-1020 to 82a-1040

Western Kansas Groundwater Management District, No. 1: KAR 5-21-1 to 5-21-9

Equus Beds Groundwater Management District, No. 2: KAR 5-22-1 to 5-22-17

Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District, No. 3: KAR 5-23-1 to 5-23-15

Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District, No. 4: KAR 5-24-1 to 5-24-11

Big Bend Groundwater Management District, No. 5: KAR 5-25-1 to 5-25-21

Agricultural waste: KAR 28-18-17 and KAR 28-18a-32

Water wells: KAR 28-30-2 to 28-30-207

Operating requirements: KAR 28-30-4

Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Division of Environment

KDHE Water Well Program

Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) Division of Water Resources (DWR)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7

See national section for basic information and federal regulations.

• Rules. Kansas protects groundwater in the state under several federal and state laws and regulations. Kansas follows the water appropriation doctrine in its regulations, which makes it illegal for individuals in Kansas to use water for other than domestic purposes without holding a water right from the Kansas Department of Agriculture's (KDA) Division of Water Resources (DWR).

As part of the regulatory framework, Kansas has established five groundwater management districts (GMDs) in the western and southern areas of the state, which cover approximately one-fourth of the ...