Groundwater — Butler County

230 of the 472 points in Butler County — 48.7% — take this source.

What this source means

a well drawing on an aquifer — in western Kansas, almost always the High Plains, the formation people call the Ogallala.

What the series actually shows — this group

Reported use here peaked in 1992 at 1,400 acre-feet and bottomed in 2018 at 630. That swing is rainfall, not policy: a wet year needs less pumping than a dry one, and any two years picked from this table can be made to say almost anything.

Comparing decades instead: the last ten years average 810 acre-feet a year against 1,015 in the first ten — lower. And the number of points reporting any use moved from 66 to 50: the count of straws in the ground barely changes, whatever the year does to the volume.

Reported use for these points, year by year. « Points reporting » counts those returning more than nought — a 0 is not a finding, see below.
Year	Acre-feet	Acres irrigated	Points reporting
1990	852	202	66
1991	912	157	60
1992	1,400	139	70
1993	1,371	150	70
1994	852	157	83
1995	992	136	85
1996	905	132	88
1997	1,043	131	37
1998	804	141	39
1999	1,020	140	40
2000	1,027	135	39
2001	848	137	35
2002	915	195	38
2003	1,068	138	41
2004	1,071	143	31
2005	1,143	143	39
2006	1,272	75	44
2007	1,282	328	45
2008	1,051	329	43
2009	1,238	354	48
2010	1,114	362	51
2011	961	368	49
2012	1,088	369	50
2013	832	369	49
2014	910	375	49
2015	917	238	48
2016	1,125	356	55
2017	855	311	51
2018	630	416	51
2019	708	327	49
2020	737	328	49
2021	773	349	49
2022	778	354	49
2023	667	334	50

⚠️ What a zero here does not mean

180 of the 230 points in this group report 0 acre-feet for 2023, and 214 show five or more successive years at 0 in this file.

A 0 in this file is not a finding. There are no blanks in the usage columns — every point carries a number for every year — so a nil return, a point that did not yet exist, and a report never filed all read the same. Kansas fines non-filing (USD 250 per file, USD 1,000 and suspension after 1 June), which is exactly why a missing report looks like a quiet year.

Kansas does terminate a water right after five successive years without beneficial use — K.S.A. 82a-718 — but only without due and sufficient cause, and only after a hearing before the chief engineer with 30 days’ notice. Four causes are recognised in K.A.R. 5-7-1, including adequate rainfall and water being unavailable at the source, and enrolment in the water rights conservation programme counts as one. A run of zeros here is a reason to check, never a conclusion.

Buying or defending irrigated ground in Butler County?

230 points of diversion sit in Butler County, reporting 667 acre-feet in 2023. What a right is actually worth turns on how much it has been used and on whether it can be defended — questions this site cannot answer for a particular file. Tell us where and we pass the request to Kansas water lawyers and consultants.

We recommend nobody and we are nobody's agent. We have no arrangement with any firm today — we are collecting these requests in order to go and find them. What we do with this.

The points

groundwater, Butler County, ordered by reported use in 2023. The last column counts the longest run of years at 0 in this file — a fact about the file, not a finding about the right.
Point	County	Source	2023 (AF)	10-yr avg	Acres 2023	Longest run of 0
42325	Butler	ground	93	98	0	17
43580	Butler	ground	87	35	0	17
60979	Butler	ground	58	91	0	7
81418	Butler	ground	41	30	0	26
77937	Butler	ground	35	52	0	21
10244	Butler	ground	32	13	83	1
22847	Butler	ground	27	11	0	7
85622	Butler	ground	22	11	0	29
80123	Butler	ground	19	6	6	24
73928	Butler	ground	17	2	0	33
20530	Butler	ground	16	12	42	4
14172	Butler	ground	15	8	0	1
2721	Butler	ground	14	45	0	4
1041	Butler	ground	13	11	0	2
73927	Butler	ground	12	4	0	17
12616	Butler	ground	11	14	28	1
47152	Butler	ground	11	15	0	0
43035	Butler	ground	11	10	0	2
71307	Butler	ground	10	11	0	15
42997	Butler	ground	8	13	22	2
85645	Butler	ground	8	4	0	29
68121	Butler	ground	7	7	0	17
75058	Butler	ground	7	13	0	23
51869	Butler	ground	7	10	0	0
53296	Butler	ground	6	7	0	3
71306	Butler	ground	6	16	64	16
24939	Butler	ground	6	6	0	6
9293	Butler	ground	6	1	0	2
33747	Butler	ground	6	7	0	0
89759	Butler	ground	5	0	0	33
75940	Butler	ground	4	5	6	19
76334	Butler	ground	4	4	0	19
53796	Butler	ground	4	9	0	3
81054	Butler	ground	4	2	5	24
18663	Butler	ground	3	4	0	17
86271	Butler	ground	3	1	0	30
88766	Butler	ground	3	1	10	31
30146	Butler	ground	3	5	0	3
382	Butler	ground	3	4	52	12
75943	Butler	ground	2	3	3	21
75944	Butler	ground	2	5	3	19
81417	Butler	ground	2	1	0	26
75941	Butler	ground	2	4	6	19
60523	Butler	ground	2	2	0	7
76370	Butler	ground	2	1	3	19
71596	Butler	ground	2	11	0	18
42075	Butler	ground	2	6	0	2
47956	Butler	ground	1	1	0	6
11172	Butler	ground	1	1	0	7
81055	Butler	ground	0	1	1	24
4	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
760	Butler	ground	0	2	0	6
790	Butler	ground	0	0	0	16
894	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
895	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
1567	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
1907	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
2159	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
2875	Butler	ground	0	0	0	24
2980	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
3245	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
3247	Butler	ground	0	0	0	28
3784	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
4888	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
6026	Butler	ground	0	4	0	9
6080	Butler	ground	0	1	0	5
6341	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
6366	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
6555	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
6931	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
6946	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
7510	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
7604	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
7925	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
8817	Butler	ground	0	0	0	31
9166	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
9636	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
9666	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
10021	Butler	ground	0	1	0	14
10426	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
10434	Butler	ground	0	0	0	18
10974	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
11005	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
11541	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
11672	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
12133	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
12247	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
13041	Butler	ground	0	0	0	20
13659	Butler	ground	0	0	0	30
14191	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
14512	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
15155	Butler	ground	0	0	0	16
15645	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
15810	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
16229	Butler	ground	0	0	0	28
16586	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
16847	Butler	ground	0	0	0	20
16973	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
17226	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
17570	Butler	ground	0	0	0	21
18602	Butler	ground	0	2	0	16
18804	Butler	ground	0	0	0	32
19257	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
19585	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
19700	Butler	ground	0	0	0	14
20037	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
21806	Butler	ground	0	0	0	33
21862	Butler	ground	0	0	0	30
22266	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
22453	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
22851	Butler	ground	0	0	0	30
23032	Butler	ground	0	10	0	6
23813	Butler	ground	0	0	0	29
24565	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
25071	Butler	ground	0	1	0	24
25139	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
25997	Butler	ground	0	0	0	31
26157	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
26529	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
27189	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
27574	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
27827	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
28009	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
28866	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
29090	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
29478	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
29795	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
30160	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
30578	Butler	ground	0	0	0	31
31333	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
31389	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
31573	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
32052	Butler	ground	0	0	0	22
32281	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
32607	Butler	ground	0	0	0	31
32875	Butler	ground	0	0	0	30
32949	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
33060	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
33434	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
33561	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
33801	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
34122	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
36031	Butler	ground	0	0	0	30
36186	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
36609	Butler	ground	0	0	0	33
37207	Butler	ground	0	0	0	29
37920	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
38933	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
39238	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
39358	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
39368	Butler	ground	0	0	0	31
39419	Butler	ground	0	0	0	28
39617	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
40730	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
41642	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
41984	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
42038	Butler	ground	0	0	0	17
42255	Butler	ground	0	0	0	33
42548	Butler	ground	0	0	0	30
42884	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
43294	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
44170	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
44635	Butler	ground	0	0	0	31
44677	Butler	ground	0	0	0	24
44736	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
44848	Butler	ground	0	0	0	30
45051	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
45788	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
45999	Butler	ground	0	0	0	26
47796	Butler	ground	0	0	0	32
47995	Butler	ground	0	75	0	5
48012	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
48150	Butler	ground	0	0	0	33
48935	Butler	ground	0	0	0	30
49648	Butler	ground	0	0	0	20
49725	Butler	ground	0	0	0	25
49769	Butler	ground	0	0	0	8
49842	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
50009	Butler	ground	0	0	0	23
50372	Butler	ground	0	0	0	20
50428	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
50477	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
50594	Butler	ground	0	0	0	33
52364	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
52383	Butler	ground	0	0	0	31
53222	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
53611	Butler	ground	0	23	0	7
53758	Butler	ground	0	0	0	27
54081	Butler	ground	0	0	0	32
60065	Butler	ground	0	0	0	22
62468	Butler	ground	0	0	0	23
65820	Butler	ground	0	0	0	34
65821	Butler	ground	0	0	0	21
65822	Butler	ground	0	0	0	17
66187	Butler	ground	0	0	0	23
66589	Butler	ground	0	4	0	12
66944	Butler	ground	0	0	0	17
67659	Butler	ground	0	1	0	13
67930	Butler	ground	0	0	0	15
67965	Butler	ground	0	0	0	20

Part of a bigger picture: all 472 points in Butler County.