Public-Supply Water Use in Kansas, 1990–2012

Abstract

This fact sheet describes water-use data collection and 

quantities of surface water and groundwater diverted for public 

supply in Kansas for the years 1990 through 2012. Data used in 

this fact sheet are from the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s 

Division of Water Resources and the Kansas Water Office. Water 

used for public supply represents about 10 percent of all reported 

water withdrawals in Kansas. Between 1990 and 2012, annual 

withdrawals for public supply ranged from a low of 121 billion 

gallons in 1993 to a high of 159 billion gallons in 2012. Differences in annual withdrawals were associated primarily with 

climatic fluctuations. Six suppliers distributed about one-half of 

the total water withdrawn for public supply, and nearly threequarters of the surface water. Surface water represented between 

52 and 61 percent of total annual withdrawals for public supply. 

The proportion of surface water obtained through contracts 

from Federal reservoirs increased from less than 5 percent in 

the 1990s to 8 percent in 2011 and 2012. More than 99 percent 

of the reported water withdrawn for public supply in Kansas 

in 2012 was metered, which was an increase from 92 percent 

in 1990. State population increased steadily from 2.5 million 

people in 1990 to 2.9 million in 2012. Recent estimates indicate that about 95 percent of the total population was served by 

public water supply; the remainder obtained water from other 

sources such as private wells. Average per capita water use as 

calculated for State conservation planning purposes varied by 

region of the State. The smallest regional average water use for 

the years 1990–2012 was 98 gallons per person per day in easternmost Kansas, and the largest regional average water use was 

274 gallons per person per day in westernmost Kansas.

Introduction

Water-use data are essential to management of water 

resources in Kansas. Water diverted for public supply represents 

about 10 percent of total reported water use in Kansas. All diversions of water for public supply on non-Federal lands within the 

State are regulated by the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s 

Division of Water Resources (DWR) or the Kansas Water Office 

(KWO). This fact sheet describes quantities of surface water 

and groundwater diverted for public supply for the years 1990 

through 2012, using data collected by these two agencies.

Locations of surface-water and groundwater points of 

diversion for public supply in 2012 are shown in figure 1. 

Most public-supply diversions in Kansas are regulated under 

municipal water rights administered by the DWR. The Kansas 

Water Appropriation Act of 1945 requires permits to appropriate water for any uses other than domestic (Kansas Department 

of Agriculture, 2014). In Kansas, municipal use (equivalent 

to public supply) is defined as the various uses made of water 

delivered through a common distribution system operated by a 

municipality, rural water district, public wholesale water district, 

correctional facility, or any person or entity serving 10 or more 

residences or mobile homes. Other public-supply diversions in 

Kansas are administered through the Water Marketing Contract 

Program established in 1974 by the State Water Plan Storage 

Act, which authorized the KWO to contract with municipal and 

industrial water purchasers for sale of water from State-owned 

storage in Federal reservoirs (Kansas Water Office, 2014). Water 

diverted under water rights and marketing contracts includes 

amounts subsequently sold or distributed to public suppliers 

without water rights, and so represents the total amount of water 

eventually used for public supply. 

Missouri River

Surface water and groundwater points 

of diversion data from Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water 

Resources Basin Management Team, 

2014

0 20 40 60 MILES

0 20 40 60 KILOMETERS

Cheney

Reservoir

Kanopolis

Lake

Clinton Lake

Hillsdale

Lake

Melvern

Lake

Council

Grove

Lake

Elk City

Lake

Marion

Reservoir

Pomona

Lake

Topeka

Olathe

Kansas

City

Wichita

Lawrence

Big Hill

Lake

WaterOne

Kansas River Kansas River

EXPLANATION

Area served by public suppliers

Points of diversion for 

public water supply 

in Kansas, 2012

Surface water

Groundwater

Reservoirs with watermarketing contracts

Extent of High Plains Aquifer

Figure 1. Location of public water supply points of diversion in 2012.

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2014–3116

November 2014
Surface water was diverted from streams, springs, and lakes 

representing 170 active DWR water rights; and from 9 federal 

reservoirs used for municipal supply through the KWO Water 

Marketing Program. Most of these surface-water diversions are 

in the eastern one-half of Kansas. Groundwater was diverted 

under water rights from about 2,600 wells, located primarily 

along streams and in areas underlain by the High Plains Aquifer.

Data Collection

Owners of water rights are required to report their water 

use annually to the DWR, and compliance has been excellent 

since penalties for not reporting were enacted in 1988 (Kansas Department of Agriculture, 2014, K.S.A. 82a-732). Data 

submitted on the water-use reports are stored in the DWR’s 

Water Rights Information System database (WRIS). The KWO 

maintains monthly records of water purchased through its Water 

Marketing Program. Marketing purchases by water suppliers are 

included on the DWR annual reports, but the withdrawals must 

be accounted for separately because they are stored in WRIS 

as purchases rather than diversions. Most of the reported water 

withdrawn for public supply in Kansas is metered rather than 

calculated using hours and pump rates. In 1990, about 92 percent 

of all reported public-supply use was metered; in 2012, more 

than 99 percent was metered.

Annual municipal water-use reports were expanded in 1987. 

In addition to reporting amounts of water diverted under water 

rights, water suppliers were asked to report wholesale purchases 

and sales; water sold for industrial and livestock uses; water 

sold to residential and commercial customers; and (beginning 

in 1992) other metered water used for public services such as 

park irrigation, public pools, and water treatment. The difference 

between water diverted and/or purchased and all metered sales 

and other uses is considered unaccounted for water. The annual 

water-use reports also request information on the retail population served and numbers of service connections.

Of approximately 700 annual municipal water-use reports 

filed each year by entities with DWR water rights (known as primary water-use reports), about 600 are from water suppliers that 

serve retail customers year-round (such as cities, rural water districts, mobile home parks, and housing subdivisions) or are for 

wholesale water districts. The other reports are filed by noncommunity water systems such as campgrounds, churches, hospitals, 

and schools. The amount of water reported annually by these 

noncommunity water systems represents only about 0.1 percent 

of all reported diversions for public supply in Kansas.

Beginning in 2000, the DWR began to request annual wateruse reports from approximately 250 water suppliers without 

DWR water rights, including systems that purchase water from 

other suppliers and wholesale districts that divert water under 

KWO marketing contracts. These are known as nonprimary 

water systems, and are not subject to penalties for nonreporting. Nearly 80 percent of the requested nonprimary reports are 

returned each year to the DWR. Obtaining similar reports from 

both primary and nonprimary water systems has improved the 

information available on water systems, their sources of supply, 

and populations served. Numbers of primary and nonprimary 

water suppliers fluctuate as water suppliers acquire or abandon water rights, new water-supply systems are established, or 

existing ones merge with others. In 2012, more than one-half 

of Kansas water suppliers relied solely on their own sources of 

supply, more than one-third purchased all their water from other 

suppliers or wholesale districts, and about 10 percent used combinations of their own supplies and purchased water.

Public Water Supply Withdrawals

Total quantities of water withdrawn for public supply by 

source from 1990 to 2012 are shown in figure 2. Total withdrawals ranged from a low of 121 billion gallons in 1993 to a high of 

159 billion gallons in 2012. Surface-water withdrawals, including those with DWR water rights and those with KWO water 

marketing contracts, ranged from a low of 63 billion gallons 

in 1993 to a high of 95 billion gallons in 2012. Surface water 

represented between 52 percent and 61 percent of total annual 

withdrawals for public supply. The quantities of water obtained 

annually from Federal reservoirs through KWO contracts 

increased from about 3 billion gallons per year in 1990 (less than 

5 percent of all surface-water withdrawals) to more than 7 billion 

gallons per year in 2011 and 2012 (8 percent of all surface-water 

withdrawals). Groundwater withdrawals varied less with time 

than surface-water withdrawals, ranging from a low of 53 billion 

gallons in 2009 to a high of 65 billion gallons in 1991. 

About 52 percent of the total water withdrawn in 2012, and 

73 percent of the total surface water, was treated and distributed 

by six water suppliers located in the most populous areas of the 

State (fig. 1). In order of magnitude of withdrawals, these suppliers and their primary sources of water are the following:

1. WaterOne (Water District 1 of Johnson County), Kansas and 

Missouri Rivers 

2. Wichita, Cheney Reservoir and wells

3. Kansas City (Board of Public Utilities), Missouri River collector wells 

4. Topeka, Kansas River

5. Olathe, Kansas River collector wells

6. Lawrence, Clinton Lake and Kansas River. 

Figure 2. Annual public-supply withdrawals by source and 

population in Kansas, 1990–2012.

EXPLANATION

2.0

2.2

2.4

2.6

2.8

3.0

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Withdrawals, in billions of gallons

Population, in millions

19901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012

Year

Surface water—Marketing contract

Surface water—Water rights

Groundwater—Water rights

Estimated population served

Total population
Kansas population trends also are shown in figure 2. The 

total population of Kansas grew steadily from nearly 2.5 million 

in 1990 to almost 2.9 million in 2012. Estimates made by USGS 

every 5 years indicate that about 90 percent of that population 

was served by public supply in 1990 and 1995, 93 percent in 

2000, and 95 percent in 2005 and 2010 (Solley and others, 1993, 

1998; Hutson and others, 2004; Kenny and others, 2009; and 

Maupin and others, 2014). 

The largest amounts of water typically are withdrawn for 

public supply during the driest years because of increases in 

outdoor watering. From 1990 through 2012, the largest withdrawals occurred during years when the State average annual 

precipitation was less than 30 inches. The largest amounts of 

water were reported for public supply in 2012, when average 

annual precipitation for Kansas was less than 20 inches. Publicsupply withdrawals were smallest in 1993, when average annual 

precipitation was nearly 40 inches. The relation between total 

withdrawals and average annual precipitation for the State is 

shown in figure 3. 

Per Capita Water Use

Water use is often described in terms of daily per capita use, 

commonly known as gallons per person per day (gpcd). Using 

data from the annual water-use reporting program, derivative 

statistics on per capita water use by Kansas public water suppliers have been prepared annually since 1988 (Kansas Department 

of Agriculture, 1988–2014). Per capita data have been valuable 

to the DWR in administering water rights and to the KWO for 

forecasting and water conservation planning. Per capita use for 

each water supplier with a retail population served is based on 

amounts of water reported for residential and commercial sales, 

metered free uses, and unaccounted for water. Including all 

unsold water in the calculation results in per capita values that 

reflect the particular needs of individual systems (such as water 

treatment and public services) 

and system losses. Excluding amounts of water sold 

for industrial and livestock 

uses, which vary from none 

to substantial amounts among 

water suppliers, allows more 

equitable comparison of per 

capita use. 

Average per capita use 

is largest in western Kansas and smallest in eastern 

Kansas because of more arid 

conditions in the west, and is 

typically lower for small towns 

than large cities (Kenny, 2000; 

Kansas Department of Agriculture, 1988–2014). Recognition 

of geographic differences in 

per capita water use resulted in 

grouping of water suppliers by 

eight regions within the State 

so that an individual supplier’s 

per capita use could be compared to averages of systems 

in similar geographic areas. As part of State efforts to evaluate 

progress in conservation efforts, the regional averages were calculated as the average of individual per capita uses within each 

regional group. 

The eight regions used for analysis of per capita water use 

are shown in figure 4 along with the number of water suppliers used to compute the 2012 average per capita use in each 

region. Regions 1 through 5 are narrow in width because per 

capita use increases greatly from central Kansas to the western 

border. Regions 6 through 8 in central and eastern Kansas are 

wider because there is generally less variation in usage. Numbers 

of water systems increased after the year 2000 when additional reports were collected from nonprimary water suppliers, 

Figure 3. Annual public-supply withdrawals and average annual 

precipitation, Kansas, 1990–2012. Withdrawals, in billions of gallons

Precipitation, in inches

19901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012

Year

Public supply withdrawals

Average annual precipitation

16

18

20

22

24

26

28

30

32

34

36

38

40

120

125

130

135

140

145

150

155

160

Precipitation data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration, National Climatic Data Center, 1990–2012

Figure 4. Regions used for analysis of per capita water use in Kansas, and number of public water 

suppliers used to compute regional average in each region for 2012. 

RENO 

FINNEY 

BUTLER 

FORD 

NESS 

GOVE 

BARBER 

LOGAN ELLIS 

CLARK SUMNER COWLEY 

RAWLINS 

GRAY 

LYON 

THOMAS 

MEADE 

TREGO 

SMITH JEWELL 

MARION 

ROOKS SHERMAN 

BARTON 

NORTON 

HAMILTON PHILLIPS 

ELK 

GREENWOOD 

RICE 

RUSSELL 

PRATT 

WALLACE 

KEARNY 

SEDGWICK 

DECATUR 

GRAHAM 

CHEYENNE 

SCOTT LANE 

MARSHALL 

RUSH 

CHASE 

HARPER 

SHERIDAN 

OSBORNE 

CLAY 

CLOUD 

KIOWA KINGMAN 

SALINE 

STAFFORD 

LINN 

MORRIS OSAGE GREELEY 

MORTON 

RILEY 

DICKINSON 

OTTAWA 

LINCOLN 

WICHITA 

PAWNEE MCPHERSON 

MITCHELL 

COFFEY 

WASHINGTON 

STEVENS 

HODGEMAN 

NEMAHA 

STANTON 

REPUBLIC 

LABETTE 

GRANT 

MIAMI ELLSWORTH 

COMANCHE 

SEWARD 

JACKSON 

WABAUNSEE 

BROWN 

POTTAWATOMIE 

ALLEN 

WILSON 

HASKELL 

EDWARDS 

NEOSHO 

FRANKLIN 

HARVEY 

ANDERSON 

JEFFERSON 

SHAWNEE 

CHAUTAUQUA GOMERY 

MONTDOUGLAS 

WOODSON 

GEARY 

ATCHISON 

DONIPHAN 

LEAVENWORTH 

WYANDOTTE

JOHNSON 

BOURBON 

CRAWFORD 

CHEROKEE

Regions used to compute average annual per capita water use—Number in parentheses

is number of public water suppliers in each region in 2012

EXPLANATION

Region 1 (16)

Region 2 (24)

Region 3 (20)

Region 4 (27)

Region 7 (334)

Region 8 (180)

Region 5 (48)

Region 6 (106)
which are most commonly small (population less than 500) and 

medium-sized (population from 500–9,999) systems in regions 7 

and 8. Mobile home parks were not included in the regional per 

capita averages for any years. 

Regional average per capita uses from 1990 to 2012 for eight 

regions of the State, and the State average, are shown in figure 5. 

The largest per capita averages and the greatest variability from 

year to year have occurred in regions 1 through 5, because of 

the more arid conditions in those regions and the small numbers 

of water suppliers in each. Smaller per capita averages and less 

variability occurred in regions 7 and 8, because there is typically 

greater precipitation and larger numbers of water suppliers. The 

largest average uses were in region 1 and ranged from 228 gpcd 

in 2009 to 321 gpcd in 2002; the region 1 average was 274 gpcd 

for the period 1990–2012. The smallest average uses were in 

region 8 and ranged from 87 gpcd in 2009 to 108 gpcd in 1991; 

the region 8 average for 1990–2012 was 98 gpcd. The largest 

per capita averages in nearly every region were during 1990 and 

1991, which were the last 2 years of a severe drought that began 

in 1988. Nearly all regional per capita averages also showed 

sharp increases in 1994, 2000, 2002, 2006, and 2010–12. Average use was smallest in nearly all regions in 2009, which was the 

third year of above-normal precipitation in central and eastern 

climatic divisions of Kansas (National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, 1988–2012).

Average gallons per capita per day

Year

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

19901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012

Average gallons per capita per day 

by region (fig. 4)

EXPLANATION

Region 1

Region 2

Region 3

Region 4

State average

Region 5

Region 6

Region 7

Region 8

Figure 5. Regional and 

State gallons per capita 

per day averages, Kansas, 

1990–2012. 

Acknowledgments

This study was made possible, in part, by support from the 

Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources, 

and the Kansas State Water Plan Fund. 

References Cited

Hutson, S.S., Barber, N.L., Kenny, J.F., Linsey, K.S., Lumia, D.S., 

and Maupin, M.A., 2004, Estimated use of water in the United 

States in 2000: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1268, 46 p.

Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources, 

1988–2014, Kansas municipal water use: Topeka, Kansas, 

[published annually since 1988, pagination and authorship varies, 

available on request from Kansas Department of 

Agriculture].

Kansas Department of Agriculture, 2014, Kansas water appropriation act: Kansas Department of Agriculture, 29 p., accessed 

November 14, 2014, at http://agriculture.ks.gov/docs/defaultsource/statues-water/kswaterappropriationact82a_701.

pdf?sfvrsn=4.

Kansas Water Office, 2014, Projects and Programs: Kansas Water 

Office Web page, accessed November 6, 2014, at http://www.kwo.

org/projects_programs/Projects_Programs.htm.

Kenny, J.F., 2000, Public water-supply use in Kansas, 1987–97: 

U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 187–99, 4 p.

Kenny, J.F., Barber, N.L., Hutson, S.S., Linsey, K.S., Lovelace, J.K., 

and Maupin, M.A., 2009, Estimated use of water in the United 

States in 2005: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1344, 52 p.

Maupin, M.A., Kenny, J.F., Hutson, S.S., Lovelace, J.K., Barber, 

N.L., and Linsey, K.S., 2014, Estimated use of water in the 

United States in 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1405, 

56 p.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1988–2012, 

Climatologic data, annual summary, Kansas: Asheville, North 

Carolina, National Climatic Data Center, v. 102–126 

[published annually].

Solley, W.B., Pierce, R.R., and Perlman, H.A., 1993, Estimated use 

of water in the United States in 1990: U.S. Geological Survey 

Circular 1081, 76 p.

Solley, W.B., Pierce, R.R., and Perlman, H.A., 1998, Estimated use 

of water in the United States in 1995: U.S. Geological Survey 

Circular 1200, 71 p.

By Joan F. Kenny

For additional information concerning this publication, 

contact:

Director, USGS Kansas Water Science Center

4821 Quail Crest Place, Lawrence, KS 66049

(785) 842–9909

Or visit the Kansas Water Science Center 

Web site at:

http://ks.water.usgs.gov ISSN 2327-6932

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20143116