GMD 4 Newsletter Articles Selected GMD 4 Newsletter Articles Contributing newsletter editions are marked by article, most recent first. Once the water level invades the conservation pool, junior priority water use would be eliminated such that the remaining senior use equals long term recharge. Local stakeholders will advise the state on the establishment of the individual aquifer subunits, and the conservation pool levels. At it's March meeting, the board adopted a position of opposing the entire concept - until more detail was provided such that the economic and social impacts could be assessed, and until the state could convince the board that our past 25 years of management has been insufficient or ineffective and we are as a result in need of such a state policy. Too large, and they become unfair.
Smaller units are fairer, but more expensive to administer.
There is a need to know the actual arrangement of the subunits before the policy impact can be understood enough for local acceptance. If this plan is going to be an administrative effort as opposed to a Legislative effort, the public needs to know. The cost will be substantial to western Kansas in terms of lower production values, lower assessed evaluations, increased social disturbances, etc. It also seems clear that the current generation and the next will pay the costs while all benefits will be deferred to generations well beyond these two. If this is state policy, it should be applied to every overdrafted aquifer and aquifer subunit in the state.