Groundwater — Clay County

428 of the 654 points in Clay County — 65.4% — 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 1991 at 22,741 acre-feet and bottomed in 1993 at 3,555. 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 11,036 acre-feet a year against 13,746 in the first ten — lower. And the number of points reporting any use moved from 212 to 246: 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	16,279	15,161	212
1991	22,741	16,076	215
1992	7,174	14,312	190
1993	3,555	9,182	133
1994	13,366	16,067	218
1995	13,919	17,212	227
1996	13,697	17,118	235
1997	17,838	18,766	239
1998	13,928	18,374	236
1999	14,962	18,865	246
2000	19,961	18,804	242
2001	17,484	18,641	238
2002	21,122	18,989	240
2003	17,882	18,699	236
2004	13,104	18,704	242
2005	13,791	19,037	241
2006	15,795	19,050	243
2007	13,560	18,711	235
2008	10,230	18,452	228
2009	9,655	18,244	232
2010	7,347	17,901	230
2011	9,792	18,527	234
2012	19,016	19,274	236
2013	12,763	19,337	240
2014	12,702	19,771	237
2015	9,433	19,277	236
2016	8,388	19,481	234
2017	12,163	19,818	242
2018	11,148	20,031	247
2019	5,102	18,133	219
2020	8,182	19,326	235
2021	13,432	20,421	251
2022	13,935	20,615	243
2023	15,874	21,513	246

⚠️ What a zero here does not mean

182 of the 428 points in this group report 0 acre-feet for 2023, and 244 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 Clay County?

428 points of diversion sit in Clay County, reporting 15,874 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, Clay 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
3160	Clay	ground	457	267	0	1
4786	Clay	ground	246	149	310	1
5512	Clay	ground	193	120	0	1
19701	Clay	ground	188	114	0	1
9644	Clay	ground	176	118	126	0
37372	Clay	ground	173	109	174	1
39230	Clay	ground	171	93	100	7
32684	Clay	ground	167	118	139	0
51500	Clay	ground	164	116	180	1
3697	Clay	ground	160	65	167	1
39701	Clay	ground	158	85	136	1
18120	Clay	ground	156	192	0	2
86328	Clay	ground	151	80	256	28
36618	Clay	ground	149	86	140	1
19062	Clay	ground	145	79	117	0
37612	Clay	ground	143	92	240	2
83590	Clay	ground	138	78	363	24
35614	Clay	ground	135	96	198	1
71281	Clay	ground	133	29	6	16
7237	Clay	ground	132	80	130	2
20306	Clay	ground	132	79	140	0
41245	Clay	ground	131	56	195	1
54543	Clay	ground	125	69	90	1
87984	Clay	ground	124	43	210	30
16514	Clay	ground	124	72	90	0
19809	Clay	ground	123	64	130	0
53011	Clay	ground	123	61	120	0
27442	Clay	ground	122	82	120	0
21903	Clay	ground	121	77	146	0
15404	Clay	ground	115	64	120	0
29872	Clay	ground	115	234	0	0
27697	Clay	ground	114	78	140	1
66704	Clay	ground	113	62	520	12
5015	Clay	ground	113	58	140	2
21749	Clay	ground	112	56	168	1
2838	Clay	ground	111	95	105	0
76591	Clay	ground	110	60	159	19
26406	Clay	ground	110	58	120	0
30479	Clay	ground	110	65	141	1
62600	Clay	ground	109	66	165	8
23422	Clay	ground	109	67	88	0
15948	Clay	ground	108	69	133	0
69600	Clay	ground	108	45	160	13
18287	Clay	ground	106	75	279	2
45755	Clay	ground	105	71	128	1
84181	Clay	ground	99	46	135	26
20071	Clay	ground	98	40	68	1
42145	Clay	ground	98	79	220	5
18491	Clay	ground	98	71	155	0
27142	Clay	ground	98	36	156	3
38913	Clay	ground	97	69	120	0
29592	Clay	ground	97	63	96	0
26221	Clay	ground	95	67	0	3
39348	Clay	ground	95	52	110	1
45238	Clay	ground	94	44	130	1
19882	Clay	ground	93	64	175	1
34503	Clay	ground	93	55	117	1
39748	Clay	ground	92	49	112	1
12843	Clay	ground	91	50	98	1
36301	Clay	ground	89	21	130	2
16309	Clay	ground	88	32	108	2
76077	Clay	ground	88	62	130	18
36970	Clay	ground	88	59	155	1
34321	Clay	ground	88	61	120	0
12880	Clay	ground	88	64	140	1
11484	Clay	ground	86	45	73	0
41637	Clay	ground	86	61	92	0
33065	Clay	ground	85	59	144	0
47056	Clay	ground	84	49	130	0
12394	Clay	ground	84	52	100	4
32836	Clay	ground	83	50	112	1
16198	Clay	ground	83	46	76	1
47947	Clay	ground	83	58	108	1
33778	Clay	ground	82	49	120	0
41947	Clay	ground	82	79	120	3
29617	Clay	ground	82	38	110	1
26358	Clay	ground	82	53	68	0
17286	Clay	ground	81	45	80	1
14165	Clay	ground	81	69	175	1
9307	Clay	ground	81	58	106	0
38121	Clay	ground	81	57	136	1
16858	Clay	ground	80	54	130	1
23758	Clay	ground	80	47	85	1
84549	Clay	ground	79	19	135	31
50636	Clay	ground	79	63	120	0
19970	Clay	ground	79	49	137	1
17331	Clay	ground	78	47	135	1
45858	Clay	ground	76	43	70	2
41397	Clay	ground	76	56	130	1
41023	Clay	ground	75	62	110	1
81551	Clay	ground	75	59	120	23
32641	Clay	ground	75	44	90	3
54627	Clay	ground	75	50	105	1
10394	Clay	ground	75	51	0	2
725	Clay	ground	75	65	141	1
18764	Clay	ground	75	64	90	0
49774	Clay	ground	74	46	80	1
49501	Clay	ground	73	56	119	0
22015	Clay	ground	73	55	135	0
38787	Clay	ground	73	56	90	0
62349	Clay	ground	71	37	108	9
70263	Clay	ground	71	36	77	14
1180	Clay	ground	70	36	60	0
48010	Clay	ground	70	43	101	1
1088	Clay	ground	67	68	110	1
3117	Clay	ground	67	57	60	1
84501	Clay	ground	66	22	81	27
36980	Clay	ground	66	63	100	0
31041	Clay	ground	66	42	82	0
8763	Clay	ground	66	46	95	1
83929	Clay	ground	65	29	60	25
45525	Clay	ground	65	57	134	0
4146	Clay	ground	64	42	100	1
39228	Clay	ground	63	47	135	0
30357	Clay	ground	63	36	0	0
27593	Clay	ground	63	63	120	0
27926	Clay	ground	62	63	90	3
3082	Clay	ground	61	83	125	0
42226	Clay	ground	61	53	106	7
2383	Clay	ground	60	37	65	0
29684	Clay	ground	60	60	100	0
11121	Clay	ground	59	34	105	2
50943	Clay	ground	58	53	135	1
85831	Clay	ground	57	45	136	27
20341	Clay	ground	56	41	56	1
54360	Clay	ground	56	37	0	12
35981	Clay	ground	56	43	72	0
8236	Clay	ground	55	28	40	3
29144	Clay	ground	55	62	135	0
7227	Clay	ground	55	38	120	1
46119	Clay	ground	55	35	70	0
25414	Clay	ground	55	39	77	0
83549	Clay	ground	54	33	100	24
43529	Clay	ground	54	20	71	3
31855	Clay	ground	53	35	48	0
2758	Clay	ground	53	35	100	1
3945	Clay	ground	53	33	140	2
53013	Clay	ground	52	40	63	1
22708	Clay	ground	51	38	75	0
82440	Clay	ground	51	23	70	26
38152	Clay	ground	51	40	130	6
33620	Clay	ground	51	31	56	0
43831	Clay	ground	49	41	80	2
46965	Clay	ground	49	42	70	0
29046	Clay	ground	49	34	57	1
1974	Clay	ground	48	32	65	1
48449	Clay	ground	47	30	61	1
89253	Clay	ground	47	5	0	32
22203	Clay	ground	46	23	126	3
14714	Clay	ground	45	53	80	0
70596	Clay	ground	45	24	45	14
45524	Clay	ground	44	27	60	1
66995	Clay	ground	44	16	135	12
84502	Clay	ground	44	11	54	31
9314	Clay	ground	44	31	93	0
15119	Clay	ground	43	34	74	2
85985	Clay	ground	42	39	71	28
6884	Clay	ground	42	21	50	2
30313	Clay	ground	42	33	134	4
61177	Clay	ground	41	55	64	8
31228	Clay	ground	41	17	45	4
9476	Clay	ground	41	55	130	0
36453	Clay	ground	41	30	65	2
32146	Clay	ground	40	33	70	1
15620	Clay	ground	40	30	100	7
32660	Clay	ground	39	30	65	1
21933	Clay	ground	38	49	80	3
54064	Clay	ground	38	24	40	1
7424	Clay	ground	38	17	55	5
26690	Clay	ground	38	60	70	2
61400	Clay	ground	37	42	60	7
343	Clay	ground	37	38	72	2
12161	Clay	ground	37	28	48	2
39942	Clay	ground	37	18	70	2
50512	Clay	ground	37	26	28	0
90498	Clay	ground	35	3	131	33
62365	Clay	ground	33	30	160	8
23654	Clay	ground	33	62	198	0
9429	Clay	ground	31	17	30	3
1457	Clay	ground	30	43	110	0
49456	Clay	ground	30	25	37	1
14967	Clay	ground	29	14	37	4
28727	Clay	ground	29	35	75	0
88663	Clay	ground	29	13	54	31
72025	Clay	ground	29	26	25	15
29966	Clay	ground	28	12	18	4
44545	Clay	ground	27	23	62	3
24942	Clay	ground	25	28	22	0
42392	Clay	ground	25	26	88	5
88401	Clay	ground	25	4	0	31
1980	Clay	ground	24	52	76	1
5002	Clay	ground	23	27	70	4
48369	Clay	ground	22	20	38	0
51696	Clay	ground	22	18	0	11
16954	Clay	ground	21	17	20	2
27550	Clay	ground	21	18	68	1
4259	Clay	ground	21	16	26	2
88400	Clay	ground	20	6	0	31
66170	Clay	ground	20	19	68	11
88127	Clay	ground	18	8	66	30

Part of a bigger picture: all 654 points in Clay County.