Water Primer: Part 7

Municipal Water SupplyKansas statute defines public water suppliers. Public suppliers must meet various water quality standards. Public water suppliers are concerned with both quantity and quality of source or “raw” water supplies, treatment and distribution systems, and securing reserves for projected demands. Safe, reliable water is the expectation of individuals, businesses, and industrial water users connected to a public water supplier. Kansas has about 900 public water supply systems, which include cities, towns, and rural water districts, as well as many smaller entities such as trailer parks and housing subdivisions. Public water supply, often called municipal water supply, accounts for about 10 percent of the total water use in Kansas (Figure 1). However, many public water supply systems also supply water for industrial users in addition to homeowners, businesses, schools, churches, and others, including outdoor water uses, such as landscape irrigation.

In general, the eastern portion of Kansas, with higher rainfall amounts and limited groundwater sources, depends on surface water as the major source of water sup-ply as compared to the western portion of Kansas. Much of the population of Kansas is concentrated in the eastern portion of the state in regions 7 and 8 of Figure 2. Six of the 10 most popu-lated counties are concentrated along the Kansas River. This population concen-tration is reflected in municipal water

use, as shown in Figure 3. In addition, there is a concentration of industrial water use in this river corridor, which includes the water needs for power pro-duction. The remaining concentration of municipal water use is in the Wichita area. The importance of surface waters as a water supply source for eastern Kansas is indicated by Figure 4. The major river basin subdivisions’ names and locations are shown in Figure 5. The six eastern watershed basins use surface water as

Figure 1: Major categories of water use in Kansas, 2000. USGS Fact Sheet 2004 – 3133

Total water use in 2000(4,430 million gallons per day)

Self-supplied domestic0.5 percent(22 million gallons per day)

Public supply9.4 percent(416 million gallons per day)

Livestock2.6 percent(116 million gallons per day)

Self-supplied industrial3.7 percent(162 million gallons per day)

Irrigation83.8 percent(3,714 million gallons per day)

2

Rawlins

Rice

McPherson Marion

Chase

Cheyenne Norton Phillips Smith Republic Marshall Nemaha Brown

Doniphan

AtchisonJacksonPottawatomieClay

CloudOsborne

Dickinson Geary

Morris

Lyon

Wabaunsee

Ottawa

RooksGrahamThomasSherman

Wallace Logan Gove Trego Ellis Russell

Saline

BartonScottWichitaGreeley

Hamilton Kearny Finney

Gray

HodgemanPawnee

Edwards

Sta�ord

Reno HarveyButler

Shawnee

Je�erson

Leav

enw

orth

Wyandotte

Douglas Johnson

MiamiFranklin

Osage

LinnAndersonCo�ey

Bourbon

Crawford

Cherokee

Allen

Neosho

Labette

Wilson

Mon

tgom

ery

WoodsonGreenwood

Sedgwick

Chautauqua

CowleySumner

Kingman

Harper

Pratt

Barber

Kiowa

Comanche

Ford

ClarkSeward

HaskellGrant

StevensMorton

Stanton

Lane

Ellsworth

Jewell

Mitchell

Lincoln

Washington

Sheridan

Decatur

Meade

Riley

Elk

RushNess

Region 1

Region 2

Region 3

Region 4

Region 5

Region 6

Region 7

Region 8

16 26 20 27 50 112 348 201

Number of public water suppliers (excluding mobile home parks) completing water-use reports in each region during 1997.

Figure 2: Regions used for Gallons per Capita Per Day (GPCD) Analysis. KDA – DWR and USGS. 2010. Kansas Municipal Water Use 2010. pp. 41.

Figure 3. Distribution of water use by type in Kansas.

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the primary water supply. In the western watersheds, only the lower Arkansas (LARK) basin has a significant use of surface water as a public water supply source.

Surface water flow varies greatly (see Water Primer Part 4, Surface Water, MF3023), so surface water storage in reservoirs is essential and can serve as the primary water source or as an emergency source during low flow periods due to droughts. Reservoir management can be challenging because of com-peting and conflicting demands for water stored within a reservoir. Reservoir water storage can be used for public water supply, flood control, power production, navigation, and recreation.

Regional water use, calculated in gallons per day per capita (GPCD), is based on the water use and popula-tion served by the supplier. The state is divided into eight regions so usage for individual supplies can be more fairly compared. The GPCD increases from east to west in Kansas because of the variation in rainfall. GPCD includes outdoor water usage for landscape

and lawn irrigation. This increases significantly in the lower precipitation areas in western Kansas. In 2010, the average GPCD was 125; however, the range was 273 GPCD in Region 1 to 81 GPCD in region 8 for a small utility (utilities serving fewer than 500 people). Figure 6 shows the trend comparison of GPCD by region from 1991 to 2010.

URE

P

SOL

SHS

UA

RK

CIM

LARK

WA

L

VER

NEO

MD

C

KLR

MO

Surface Water Ground Water

Western Kansas River Basins — Eastern Kansas River Basins

Publ

ic-S

uppl

y w

ater

use

, in

mill

ions

of g

allo

ns p

er d

ay

Supply Source for Kansas Public Water Systems

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2004/3133/

Figure 4: Source of water supply for public water systems in Kansas, 2000. (Adapted from USGS Fact Sheet 2004-3133)

Figure 5. Major river basins in Kansas.

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Authors: Danny H. Rogers, professor, irrigation systems, biological and agricultural engineering

G. Morgan Powell, retired professor, biological and agricultural engineering Kerri Ebert, extension assistant, biological and agricultural engineering

Brand names appearing in this publication are for product identification purposes only. No endorsement is intended, nor is criticism implied of similar products not mentioned.

Publications from Kansas State University are available at: www.ksre.ksu.edu

Publications are reviewed or revised annually by appropriate faculty to reflect current research and practice. Date shown is that of publication or last revision. Contents of this publication may be freely reproduced

for educational purposes. All other rights reserved. In each case, credit Danny H. Rogers, G. Morgan Powell, and Kerri Ebert, Water Primer, Part 7: Municipal Water Supply, Kansas State University, December 2013.

Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension ServiceMF3026 December 2013K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension Work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, as amended. Kansas State University, County Extension Councils, Extension Districts, and United States Department of Agriculture Cooperating, John D. Floros, Director.

Figure 6. Average annual GPCD for Kansas and selected regions. Region 8L refers to utilities’ serving more than 10,000 people, 8M to utilities serving from 500 to 9,999 people, and 8S to utilities serving fewer than 500 people. (KDA-DWR and USGS. 2010).

References KDHE. 2005. Kansas Statutes Pertaining to Public Water Supply. Available at www.kdheks.gov/pws.

Rogers, D.H., G.M. Powell, and K. Ebert. 2012. Water Primer, Part 4: Surface Water. Kansas State Research and Extension. MF3023.

KDA – DWR and USGS. 2010. Kansas Municipal Water Use 2010.

Kenny, J.F. and C.V. Hansen. 2004. Water Use in Kansas. 1990-2000. USGS Fact Sheet 2004-3133.