The Kansas Geological Survey is seeking state funding to determine whether eastern Kansas has enough drinking water. The agency has monitored groundwater levels in western Kansas for decades as farm irrigation depletes the Ogallala Aquifer. The agency’s interim director, Rolfe Mandel, says it’s time to start studying the Kansas River alluvial aquifer as well, to make sure it can support steady population growth between Manhattan and Kansas City.
Mandel and his staff told state lawmakers today (TUE) that they would need about a quarter-million dollars to drill monitoring wells along the Kansas River.