U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2004–3133

December 2004 Printed on recycled paper

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Upper

Republican

(UREP) Solomon (SOL)

Smoky Hill-Saline (SHS)

Upper Arkansas

(UARK)

Cimarron

(CIM)

Lower Arkansas

(LARK)

Verdigris

(VER)

Walnut

(WAL)

Neosho

(NEO)

Marais des 

 Cygnes

 (MDC)

Kansas-Lower

Republican (KLR)

Missouri

(MO)

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Figure 1. Major river basins in 

Prepared in cooperation with the 

Kansas Department of Agriculture – Division of Water Resources and the Kansas Water Office

WATER USE IN KANSAS, 1990−2000

By Joan F. Kenny and Cristi V. Hansen

Abstract

This fact sheet compares water use in 1990, 1995, and 2000 

for the 12 major river basins in Kansas. Of these 3 years, irrigation water use was largest in 1990 and smallest in 1995, largely 

because of differing climatic conditions. Irrigation averaged 

about 85 percent of total water use in Kansas each year, and 

ground water pumped in the western part of the State provided 

most of the irrigation water used. Water use for public supply, industry, and livestock increased between 1990 and 2000. 

Total State population increased 8 percent between 1990 and 

2000, and the number of people served by public water suppliers increased 12 percent. Surface water withdrawn for public 

supply increased 24 percent because of population growth in the 

northeastern and south-central parts of the State and decreasing 

reliance on ground water by the city of Wichita. From 1990 to 

2000, ground-water withdrawals for livestock and meat processing increased in western Kansas, and surface-water withdrawals 

for sand dredging increased in eastern Kansas. This fact sheet 

was produced as part of an ongoing cooperative program supported in part by the Kansas State Water Plan Fund.

 Introduction

Information on water use in Kansas is important for waterrights administration, water-supply planning, conservation 

efforts, interstate water issues, and documenting trends in water 

use. By law, the Kansas Department of Agriculture–Division 

of Water Resources (DWR) administers water rights for all beneficial uses and requires annual water-use reports for all water 

rights except domestic. This information is used to establish 

and enforce water appropriations for beneficial uses, primarily 

irrigation, public supply, and industry. The 

Kansas Water Office (KWO) uses the data for 

water-supply planning, water marketing, and 

population projections. The U.S. Geological 

Survey (USGS) assists these State agencies 

with water-use data collection, evaluation, 

database maintenance, and publication of 

annual summaries of irrigation and public-supply water use. At 5-year intervals, 

the USGS provides water-use data for the 

national report, “Estimated Use of Water in 

the United States” (see Hutson and others, 

2004; Solley and others, 1993, 1998).

Most of the water-use data in this fact 

sheet were derived from site-specific information reported to DWR by irrigators, public 

water suppliers, and industries. Data are 

aggregated by the 12 major river basins in 

Kansas, as previously shown for 1990 and 

1995 (Kenny, 1999). These basins (fig. 1) are the planning units 

used by the Kansas Water Office in administering the State 

Water Plan Fund. Population distribution, water availability, 

and predominant water uses vary considerably among these 

basins. The Upper Republican, Solomon, Smoky Hill-Saline, 

Upper Arkansas, Cimarron, and Lower Arkansas Basins cover 

the western two-thirds of the State and are identified hereafter 

as “western” basins. Most of the available ground water and 

irrigated agriculture are located in these basins. The Walnut, 

Verdigris, Neosho, Marais des Cygnes, Kansas−Lower Republican, and Missouri River Basins cover the eastern one-third of 

the State and are designated hereafter as “eastern” basins. Most 

of the available surface water and large population centers, with 

the exception of Wichita, are located in these basins. 

Average annual precipitation increases from west to east in 

Kansas and ranged from less than 20 inches in southwestern 

Kansas to more than 40 inches in southeastern Kansas during 

1990, 1995, and 2000. Of these 3 years, total annual precipitation for the State was smallest during 2000 and largest during 

1995 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

1990−2000).

Total Water Use

The major categories of water use in Kansas are irrigation, public supply, industrial, and livestock. For this fact 

sheet, mining and thermoelectric power generation water uses 

were included in the industrial category, and aquaculture was 

included in the livestock category. A small but important category of use, self-supplied domestic use, also is shown. 
Total 

water use

in 2000

(4,430 million

gallons per day)

Irrigation 83.8 percent

(3,714 million gallons

per day)

Self-supplied industrial

3.7 percent

(162 million gallons per day)

Public supply 9.4 percent

(416 million gallons per day)

Livestock 

2.6 percent

(116 million gallons per day)

Self-supplied domestic 

0.5 percent

(22 million gallons per day)

Figure 2. Major categories of water use in Kansas, 2000.

UREP

SOL

SHS

UARK

CIM

LARK

WAL

VER

NEO

MDC

KLR

MO

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

Irrigation water use, in million gallons per day

Major river basin (fig. 1)

Western basins Eastern basins

Surface water

Ground water

1990

1995

2000

Figure 3. Irrigation water use in 1990, 1995, and 2000 by river basin.

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

UREP

SOL

SHS

UARK

CIM

LARK

WAL

VER

NEO

MDC

KLR

MO

Populations, in thousands

Self-supplied

Public-supplied

1990

1995 2000

Major river basin (fig. 1)

Western basins Eastern basins

Figure 4. Self-supplied domestic and public-supplied populations in 1990, 

1995, and 2000 by river basin.

Water use totaled 4,430 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) in 

2000 (fig. 2). About 84 percent of the freshwater withdrawn in 

Kansas during 2000 was used for irrigation. The second largest 

use of water in 2000 was public supply, which comprised about 

9 percent of the total. Self-supplied industrial uses represented 

less than 4 percent of the 2000 total, and livestock uses represented less than 3 percent. Self-supplied domestic use represented 0.5 percent of the 2000 total.

Water use for irrigation in 2000 was about 10 percent 

larger than in 1995 and about 11 percent smaller than in 1990, 

primarily because of different climatic conditions. Water use 

for public supply, industrial uses, and livestock were larger in 

2000 than in 1990. Estimated water withdrawn for self-supplied 

domestic use decreased slightly from 1990 to 2000 because 

increasing numbers of people obtained their household water 

from public suppliers.

Irrigation Water Use

Irrigation is the largest use of water in Kansas. Irrigation 

withdrawals were 3,714 Mgal/d (4.16 million acre-feet per year) 

in 2000, 3,383 Mgal/d (3.79 million acre-feet per year) in 1995, 

and 4,186 Mgal/d (4.69 million acre-feet per year) in 1990. 

About 75 percent of the State’s irrigation water use occurred 

in the Upper Arkansas, Cimarron, and Lower Arkansas River 

Basins (fig. 3). More than 92 percent of all irrigation withdrawals for each of the 3 years in Kansas was from ground water. 

About 33 percent of all ground water used for irrigation in 2000 

was pumped in the Upper Arkansas River Basin. 

Only the Kansas−Lower Republican, Solomon, and Upper 

Arkansas River Basins use significant amounts of surface water 

for irrigation. Surface-water irrigation use was supplied primarily by irrigation districts that deliver water through canals from 

reservoirs in the north-central part of the State (Kansas−Lower 

Republican and Solomon River Basins) and from the Arkansas 

River in western Kansas (Upper Arkansas River Basin). In the 

Solomon and Upper Arkansas River Basins, more surface water 

was used for irrigation in 1995 and 2000 than in 1990 because 

of greater availability of water to supply the irrigation canals.

Irrigation water use varies from year to year primarily 

because of climatic differences, but the quantity of water used 

also is affected by changes in water availability, efficiencies 

of various application methods, and the types and acreages 

of crops grown. Of the 3 years presented in this report, total 

irrigation water use was largest in 1990 when precipitation was 

less than normal and summer temperatures were above normal 

throughout most of the State. Irrigation water use was least 

among the 3 years during 1995, when temperatures and precipitation were close to normal. The warmest and driest conditions 

prevailed in 2000, but irrigation water use was 11 percent less 

that year compared to 1990. The largest decrease in irrigation 

water use occurred in the Cimarron River Basin, where withdrawals were 21 percent less in 2000 than in 1990 as a result 

of declining ground-water levels and conversion of irrigation 

systems from flood to sprinkler. 

Of the 3 years described in this report, more acres 

(3.31 million) were irrigated in 2000, 7 percent more than 

either 1990 or 1995. The average irrigation application rate 

for the State in 2000 was 1.26 acre-feet per acre, compared to 

1.51 acre-feet per acre in 1990 and 1.23 acre-feet per acre in 

1995. 

Population and Public-Supply and Self-Supplied 

Domestic Water Use 

Total Kansas population increased from nearly 2.5 million 

people in 1990 to nearly 2.7 million people in 2000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Census (2002). Nearly 40 percent of 

the population in 2000 lived in the Kansas−Lower Republican 

River Basin, and nearly 25 percent lived in the Lower Arkansas 

River Basin. Nearly 75 percent of the population growth from 
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Public-supply water use, in million

gallons per day 

UREP

SOL

SHS

UARK

CIM

LARK

WAL

VER

NEO

MDC

KLR

MO

1990

1995

2000

Major river basin (fig. 1)

Western basins Eastern basins

Surface water

Ground water

Figure 5. Public-supply water use in 1990, 1995, and 2000 by river basin.

0

UREP

SOL

SHS

UARK

CIM

LARK

WAL

VER

NEO

MDC

KLR

MO

1990 1995

2000

10

20

30

40

50

60

Industrial water use, in million gallons per day

Major river basin (fig. 1)

Western basins Eastern basins

Surface water

Ground water

Figure 6. Self-supplied industrial water use in 1990, 1995, and 2000 by 

river basin.

1990 to 2000 occurred in these two basins. Population declines 

occurred in the Solomon, Upper Republican, and Verdigris 

River Basins from 1990 to 2000.

Numbers of people served by cities, rural water districts, and 

other public suppliers are reported to DWR on annual water-use 

reports. The population served also may be estimated using 

numbers of active residential service connections and population data from the U.S. Bureau of Census. Self-supplied populations in each county were calculated as the difference between 

total census populations and population served by public suppliers. 

More than 90 percent of the population in Kansas obtained 

drinking water from public suppliers in 1990, 1995, and 2000; 

the remainder was self supplied (fig. 4). The population served 

by public water suppliers increased by 12 percent between 1990 

and 2000 An estimated 192,900 Kansans obtained drinking 

water from private wells in 2000, a decrease of 56,900 people 

compared to 1990. The percentage of Kansans that were self 

supplied decreased from 10 percent in 1990 to 7 percent in 

2000. 

Public water suppliers include cities, rural water districts, 

housing developments, and mobile home parks. Water provided 

by public suppliers is used for domestic, commercial, industrial, 

and public uses. The amount of water used for public supply in 

Kansas increased by 11 percent between 1990 and 2000. About 

416 Mgal/d were used for public water supply in Kansas in 

2000 compared to 373 Mgal/d in 1990 and 370 Mgal/d in 1995. 

Surface water is the predominant source of public supply in 

the six eastern basins because of the availability of water from 

streams and large reservoirs. Ground water is the predominant 

source of public supply in the six western basins (fig. 5). 

Surface water provided 59 percent of the public-supply 

use in 2000 and 53 percent in 1990. The percentage of public-supply water obtained from rivers and reservoirs increased 

in the Lower Arkansas and Missouri River Basins between 

1990 and 2000. The largest increases occurred in the Missouri River Basin, where surface water is withdrawn from the 

Missouri River and used in suburban areas near Kansas City 

(Kansas−Lower Republican Basin). Surface-water withdrawals 

in the Missouri River Basin increased 58 percent from 1990 to 

2000, from 55.4 to 87.6 Mgal/d. Ground-water withdrawals for 

public supply in the Lower Arkansas Basin declined by 

21 percent from 1990 to 2000, from 71.9 to 56.8 Mgal/d, largely 

because the city of Wichita relied increasingly on surface water 

during that time period. As part of efforts to slow water-level 

declines in its well field in the Equus Beds aquifer, Wichita has 

increased its use of water from Cheney Reservoir when available. Public-supply use was less in 1995 than in 1990 and 2000 

in several basins, including the Lower Arkansas, because of 

moderate climatic conditions and less demand for water. 

Self-supplied domestic water use is that used for indoor and 

outdoor purposes at homes not served by public water suppliers. Self-supplied domestic water use was estimated using the 

self-supplied populations and per-capita averages developed 

using customer sales data from small water systems throughout 

Kansas. Self-supplied domestic use was estimated to be nearly 

25 Mgal/d in 1990, 24 Mgal/d in 1995, and 22 Mgal/d in 2000. 

All self-supplied domestic use in Kansas was assumed to be 

from ground water. Self-supplied domestic per-capita water use 

for 2000 ranged from 56 gallons per day in the Neosho River 

Basin to 300 gallons per day in the Cimarron, Upper Arkansas, 

and Upper Republican Basins, and averaged 112 gallons per day 

statewide. 

Self-Supplied Industrial Water Use

Industrial water rights in Kansas are issued for three main 

categories—industrial, mining, and thermoelectric power generation. Industrial uses of water in Kansas include production 

of salt, fertilizer, chemicals, and food, as well as manufacturing and petroleum refining. Mining uses include production 

of sand, gravel, stone, oil, gas, and coal. Thermoelectric uses 

include cooling at fossil fuel and nuclear powerplants. 

Self-supplied industrial water uses for the three industrial 

categories totaled 162 Mgal/d in 2000 and 152 Mgal/d in 1995 

and 1990. About 75 percent of the ground-water use for these 

categories occurred in the western basins, and nearly all of the 

surface-water use occurred in the eastern basins (fig. 6). 

Water use for the industrial category in Kansas was about 

53 Mgal/d for each of the 3 years reported in this fact sheet. 

About 90 percent of this industrial use was from ground water. 

The largest industrial water use in Kansas was for meat processing, and most of these facilities were located in the Upper 
0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Livestock water use, in million

gallons per day 

UREP

SOL

SHS

UARK

CIM

LARK

WAL

VER

NEO

MDC

KLR

MO

Surface water

Ground water 1990 1995

2000

Major river basin (fig. 1)

Western basins Eastern basins

Figure 7. Livestock water use in 1990, 1995, and 2000 by river basin. 

Arkansas and Cimarron River Basins. Water use for meat 

processing increased in these basins by more than 50 percent 

between 1990 and 2000. Industrial ground-water use in the 

Lower Arkansas River Basin was mostly for salt production, 

petroleum refining, and manufacture of chemicals, fertilizers, 

paper, and plastics. Water use for these industries decreased 

between 1990 and 2000. Self-supplied ground-water use in 

the Kansas−Lower Republican River Basin was primarily for 

production of chemicals and cellophane; this use also decreased 

between 1990 and 2000. Industrial uses of surface water in the 

Neosho River Basin were primarily for cement production. In 

the Verdigris River Basin, industsrial uses of surface water were 

primarily for petroleum refining.

Mining water uses in Kansas primarily consist of sand dredging and oil and gas production. Mining water use was about 

26 Mgal/d in 1990, 24 Mgal/d in 1995, and 31 Mgal/d in 2000. 

Most of the ground-water use for sand dredging was in the 

Kansas−Lower Republican and Lower Arkansas River Basins, 

and most of the ground-water use for oil and gas industries 

was in the Cimarron and Lower Arkansas River Basins. Most 

of the surface-water use for sand dredging occurred in the 

Kansas−Lower Republican and Missouri River Basins. Increasing amounts of surface water were reported for sand dredging 

in the Kansas−Lower Republican and Missouri River Basins 

between 1990 and 2000 as a result of new water-rights requirements for dredging operations. 

Water use for thermoelectric power generation reported to 

DWR represents water needed for cooling at powerplants and 

evaporation at cooling lakes. It does not include water that is 

returned to the environment after being nonconsumptively used. 

Water use for thermoelectric power generation ranged from 

73 Mgal/d in 1990 to nearly 77 Mgal/d in 2000. About 80 percent was from surface water. The largest uses of surface water 

for thermoelectric power generation were in the Kansas−Lower 

Republican, Neosho, and Marais des Cygnes River Basins. 

Most of the ground-water use for thermoelectric power generation was in the Lower Arkansas and Upper Arkansas River 

Basins.

Livestock Water Use

Livestock water-use estimates in this report include usage at 

large facilities as well as small farms. Facilities of 1,000 head 

or more are required to report annual water use to DWR. Additional livestock water use was estimated using annual statistics 

on animal numbers (Kansas Department of Agriculture and U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1991, 1996, 2001) along with DWR 

water-use coefficients in gallons per head per day. A small 

amount of reported water use for operating fish farms (aquaculture) is included in this category. 

Livestock water use occurred in every basin in Kansas 

(fig. 7) and ranged from 107 Mgal/d in 1990 to 116 Mgal/d 

in 2000. About 90 percent of the water used in this category 

was for beef cattle, both in feedlots and on pasture. Smaller 

amounts of water were used for dairy cattle, hogs, and poultry. 

Ground water provided most of the livestock use in western 

Kansas. Farm ponds and wells were common sources of water 

for livestock in eastern Kansas.

Between 1990 and 2000, livestock water use increased by 

39 percent in the Upper Arkansas River Basin, from 17.6 to 

24.5 Mgal/d. In the Cimarron River Basin, livestock water 

use increased by 61 percent, from 10.1 Mgal/d in 1990 to 

16.3 Mgal/d in 2000. These two basins represented 35 percent 

of all livestock water use in Kansas in 2000. Livestock water 

use decreased between 1990 and 2000 in the Lower Arkansas, 

Kansas−Lower Republican, and Missouri River Basins.

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 and U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

1991, Kansas farm facts: Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service, 

Topeka Kansas, 116 p.

Kansas Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

1996, Kansas farm facts: Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service, 

Topeka Kansas, 116 p.

Kansas Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

2001, Kansas farm facts: Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service, 

Topeka Kansas, 114 p.

Kenny, J.F., 1999, Water use in Kansas, 1990 and 1995: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 090−99, 4 p.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1990−2000, 

Climatological data, Kansas (published monthly): Ashville, North 

Carolina, National Climatic Data Center, various pagination.

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.

U.S. Census Bureau, 2002, Time series of Kansas intercensal population estimates by county, April 1, 1990 to April 1, 2000: Information 

available on the World Wide Web, accessed October 28, 2004, at 

URL http://www.census.gov/popest/archives/2000s/vintage_2001/

CO-EST2001-12/CO-EST2001-12-20.html

For more information on water use, visit the following Web sites:

http://ks.water.usgs.gov/Kansas/studies/wateruse/

http://water.usgs.gov/watuse/

http://www.ksda.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=173

http://www.kwo.org/

or contact:

District Chief

U.S. Geological Survey

4821 Quail Crest Place

Lawrence, Kansas 66049−3839

(785) 841−9909

E-mail: dc_ks@usgs.gov