Ogallala Aquifer

Kansas has a water problem. The supply of water out west has been declining for decades. As the state struggles to address the problem, we hear from one of those keeping track of the data. Commentator Rex Buchanan has more on measuring water wells out west.

Here's a summary of the day's Kansas news headlines from the Associated Press as compiled by the KPR news staff.

The water crisis in Kansas is getting worse and there's no end in sight. Water quantity and water quality are ongoing concerns in the Sunflower State. And the answers to both problems come with expensive price tags.

Water shortages are threatening crops and livestock operations throughout the region.

Regional headlines from the Associated Press

The Latest News from the Associated Press

The number one issue affecting all things in western Kansas is water. University of Kansas Journalism Professor David Guth travelled the region, conducting interviews for an upcoming book about issues affecting rural communities. In this report, Guth says there’s agreement on the need to conserve water… but almost no agreement on how to do that. (This report is part 1 in a series titled, “Amber Waves of Change,” where we hear about issues affecting the rural Midwest.)

A proposal to build an aqueduct from the Missouri River in northeast Kansas to water-starved portions of western Kansas seemed unlikely to go anywhere in the first place and now... a top water official has all but ruled out the idea.

Regional headlines from the Associated Press

State water officials are still studying the idea of building a massive aqueduct from eastern to western Kansas.