Groundwater — Osborne County

183 of the 311 points in Osborne County — 58.8% — 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 4,612 acre-feet and bottomed in 1993 at 644. 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 2,151 acre-feet a year against 2,479 in the first ten — lower. And the number of points reporting any use moved from 89 to 57: 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	3,187	2,730	89
1991	4,612	3,872	96
1992	1,134	1,181	46
1993	644	60	26
1994	2,279	1,853	70
1995	2,752	2,098	74
1996	2,646	2,141	75
1997	2,699	2,633	81
1998	2,240	1,878	70
1999	2,595	2,090	75
2000	3,402	2,594	78
2001	2,529	2,049	67
2002	3,142	2,240	72
2003	2,958	2,283	70
2004	2,524	2,293	75
2005	2,246	2,624	66
2006	3,156	2,708	73
2007	2,057	2,177	66
2008	1,866	2,077	65
2009	2,347	2,159	62
2010	1,407	1,819	56
2011	2,144	2,094	62
2012	3,599	2,569	66
2013	2,576	2,565	68
2014	2,374	2,678	69
2015	2,057	2,596	68
2016	2,207	3,062	72
2017	2,630	2,575	71
2018	2,378	2,666	73
2019	1,792	2,474	61
2020	2,133	2,626	65
2021	1,874	2,353	60
2022	2,114	2,243	58
2023	1,948	2,235	57

⚠️ What a zero here does not mean

126 of the 183 points in this group report 0 acre-feet for 2023, and 137 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 Osborne County?

183 points of diversion sit in Osborne County, reporting 1,948 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, Osborne 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
17439	Osborne	ground	122	57	120	2
23437	Osborne	ground	96	76	125	5
6973	Osborne	ground	95	90	0	14
25391	Osborne	ground	90	79	165	2
29083	Osborne	ground	82	25	70	10
47166	Osborne	ground	75	96	0	12
41817	Osborne	ground	73	49	40	1
37717	Osborne	ground	68	73	0	6
7487	Osborne	ground	64	34	0	1
37353	Osborne	ground	62	38	60	2
6445	Osborne	ground	62	34	78	10
89991	Osborne	ground	59	6	99	33
12793	Osborne	ground	55	89	129	1
45494	Osborne	ground	53	37	61	3
10488	Osborne	ground	52	60	85	1
6748	Osborne	ground	50	37	0	0
51403	Osborne	ground	50	45	0	2
10917	Osborne	ground	49	38	57	2
46747	Osborne	ground	48	59	151	3
12585	Osborne	ground	43	35	58	1
34693	Osborne	ground	41	39	65	0
16153	Osborne	ground	38	35	55	3
31654	Osborne	ground	37	24	37	12
38784	Osborne	ground	34	34	52	3
1830	Osborne	ground	34	43	57	2
45676	Osborne	ground	34	20	58	11
32148	Osborne	ground	33	28	22	2
27861	Osborne	ground	32	19	54	9
37315	Osborne	ground	31	33	96	8
20480	Osborne	ground	30	23	0	1
31078	Osborne	ground	29	43	50	1
50415	Osborne	ground	26	12	34	4
2572	Osborne	ground	25	30	50	1
12637	Osborne	ground	21	24	45	1
19105	Osborne	ground	21	40	0	0
30683	Osborne	ground	15	18	14	4
62524	Osborne	ground	14	4	0	31
76905	Osborne	ground	14	4	0	25
83381	Osborne	ground	14	7	12	24
89791	Osborne	ground	11	4	0	32
25282	Osborne	ground	10	18	30	8
34924	Osborne	ground	10	11	0	3
51949	Osborne	ground	9	21	0	7
53652	Osborne	ground	8	21	0	1
21860	Osborne	ground	7	25	102	2
83383	Osborne	ground	6	20	40	24
8992	Osborne	ground	5	7	21	8
48933	Osborne	ground	3	0	43	11
64168	Osborne	ground	3	8	0	9
3290	Osborne	ground	2	2	0	5
3039	Osborne	ground	1	4	0	16
90541	Osborne	ground	1	0	0	33
3829	Osborne	ground	1	1	0	3
25559	Osborne	ground	1	1	0	2
10227	Osborne	ground	0	1	0	1
43279	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	21
22990	Osborne	ground	0	5	0	6
2063	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
2099	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	32
2566	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
3124	Osborne	ground	0	10	0	7
3143	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	8
3281	Osborne	ground	0	1	0	25
3807	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	17
4425	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
4430	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
4785	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	27
4850	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	32
5250	Osborne	ground	0	1	0	7
5282	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	25
5747	Osborne	ground	0	45	0	3
6422	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	19
6761	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	16
7229	Osborne	ground	0	10	0	7
7389	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
7703	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	29
7904	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	19
8151	Osborne	ground	0	71	0	3
8373	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
8779	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
9278	Osborne	ground	0	7	0	6
9321	Osborne	ground	0	1	0	1
10292	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
10535	Osborne	ground	0	18	0	22
12598	Osborne	ground	0	2	0	9
12876	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	25
13968	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
15016	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
15340	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	21
15652	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	15
16048	Osborne	ground	0	16	0	8
16273	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
16331	Osborne	ground	0	18	0	3
16761	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
17003	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	10
17475	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
18223	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
19197	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	10
19216	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	29
19321	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	20
19563	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	12
20008	Osborne	ground	0	15	0	4
20123	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
20449	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
20565	Osborne	ground	0	1	0	18
20636	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
21336	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	21
21708	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	11
23325	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
23743	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
24729	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
26181	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	25
26270	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
26783	Osborne	ground	0	17	0	3
28613	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
28810	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
29047	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	19
29310	Osborne	ground	0	29	0	11
30502	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	21
31330	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	26
31517	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
32673	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	28
33075	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
33718	Osborne	ground	0	6	0	9
35624	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	28
35670	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
35751	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
35895	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	18
36085	Osborne	ground	0	2	0	4
36140	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
36287	Osborne	ground	0	12	0	4
36544	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	15
36763	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
37925	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	32
38397	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	32
38916	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	23
39064	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	15
39388	Osborne	ground	0	3	0	3
39504	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	26
40222	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	4
40894	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	32
41134	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	25
41254	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	32
41516	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
41710	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	32
41780	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	32
42988	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
43473	Osborne	ground	0	27	0	3
43941	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	10
44068	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
44173	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
44713	Osborne	ground	0	2	0	4
45610	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
46387	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	32
46952	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
47862	Osborne	ground	0	28	0	3
48750	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
49366	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	32
49829	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	19
50213	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
50789	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
50865	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	23
51267	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	16
51463	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	29
51847	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
52073	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
52096	Osborne	ground	0	40	0	4
52863	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	17
53533	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	28
53825	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	15
54124	Osborne	ground	0	13	0	7
54143	Osborne	ground	0	59	0	3
54158	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	33
60025	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
61002	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
61133	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	21
61134	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
62523	Osborne	ground	0	12	0	9
64169	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
67826	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34
69615	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	17
69616	Osborne	ground	0	1	0	14
90542	Osborne	ground	0	0	0	34

Part of a bigger picture: all 311 points in Osborne County.