Groundwater — Washington County

456 of the 663 points in Washington County — 68.8% — 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 2023 at 8,758 acre-feet and bottomed in 1993 at 1,226. 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 6,087 acre-feet a year against 3,317 in the first ten — higher. And the number of points reporting any use moved from 70 to 198: 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	3,932	4,587	70
1991	5,288	4,798	81
1992	1,905	4,051	70
1993	1,226	3,456	71
1994	2,746	4,356	87
1995	3,425	4,106	78
1996	3,323	4,837	91
1997	4,435	5,164	91
1998	3,084	4,645	90
1999	3,811	5,077	93
2000	5,372	5,799	95
2001	4,438	6,454	91
2002	7,838	8,491	108
2003	7,289	7,673	112
2004	5,393	8,212	113
2005	5,180	7,925	120
2006	5,644	7,781	122
2007	4,438	7,744	118
2008	3,792	7,764	121
2009	4,446	7,674	129
2010	3,905	8,492	129
2011	3,544	8,281	128
2012	8,413	9,861	140
2013	5,425	10,476	143
2014	5,592	11,456	154
2015	4,965	11,208	153
2016	5,017	11,534	173
2017	7,582	14,513	185
2018	5,754	12,235	188
2019	3,216	9,821	167
2020	5,240	12,678	190
2021	7,643	13,984	195
2022	7,102	12,308	189
2023	8,758	14,302	198

⚠️ What a zero here does not mean

258 of the 456 points in this group report 0 acre-feet for 2023, and 407 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 Washington County?

456 points of diversion sit in Washington County, reporting 8,758 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, Washington 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
85239	Washington	ground	211	77	250	28
78093	Washington	ground	195	136	546	23
16557	Washington	ground	192	106	360	0
84183	Washington	ground	177	51	195	30
65670	Washington	ground	174	126	814	14
85476	Washington	ground	169	72	253	28
82189	Washington	ground	166	104	280	26
67159	Washington	ground	149	47	165	13
81833	Washington	ground	146	68	116	26
35303	Washington	ground	143	74	125	1
13367	Washington	ground	142	93	205	1
82992	Washington	ground	136	78	215	24
66931	Washington	ground	131	90	240	13
76851	Washington	ground	130	103	814	22
44486	Washington	ground	129	60	120	0
81224	Washington	ground	120	106	0	23
16936	Washington	ground	117	82	165	0
85956	Washington	ground	115	45	150	28
36563	Washington	ground	114	54	126	1
61855	Washington	ground	114	109	0	10
62056	Washington	ground	113	77	0	26
87932	Washington	ground	110	30	116	30
45918	Washington	ground	106	76	242	21
76956	Washington	ground	102	68	125	19
48313	Washington	ground	101	52	215	2
79272	Washington	ground	100	40	124	22
86461	Washington	ground	99	16	187	32
64613	Washington	ground	96	48	132	12
70549	Washington	ground	94	68	125	14
67959	Washington	ground	94	54	130	23
64520	Washington	ground	93	52	175	15
64590	Washington	ground	93	59	131	12
20035	Washington	ground	91	72	135	1
11123	Washington	ground	90	55	135	6
4348	Washington	ground	90	41	120	3
89304	Washington	ground	88	9	115	33
64693	Washington	ground	84	45	108	12
80293	Washington	ground	84	69	175	23
28861	Washington	ground	82	24	63	11
26786	Washington	ground	81	54	138	0
34731	Washington	ground	80	77	0	1
88535	Washington	ground	80	8	99	33
13397	Washington	ground	79	92	140	3
33473	Washington	ground	78	64	130	12
80284	Washington	ground	78	57	123	22
83478	Washington	ground	75	54	95	26
13586	Washington	ground	73	61	0	6
79216	Washington	ground	72	44	130	22
64447	Washington	ground	71	48	0	24
64397	Washington	ground	70	52	281	14
81099	Washington	ground	70	35	113	26
84449	Washington	ground	68	37	89	26
71116	Washington	ground	67	44	154	15
87909	Washington	ground	66	21	85	30
84059	Washington	ground	66	49	125	26
32507	Washington	ground	65	54	150	21
62211	Washington	ground	65	41	120	8
85999	Washington	ground	65	37	120	27
64071	Washington	ground	63	67	0	12
82515	Washington	ground	61	44	151	24
16293	Washington	ground	60	17	63	26
45050	Washington	ground	60	35	63	2
86102	Washington	ground	59	31	138	27
83548	Washington	ground	57	43	120	24
45980	Washington	ground	57	35	121	2
65303	Washington	ground	55	61	127	11
51559	Washington	ground	54	55	136	0
30537	Washington	ground	54	34	0	3
7088	Washington	ground	54	13	0	14
12139	Washington	ground	53	35	125	2
16779	Washington	ground	52	46	66	1
65165	Washington	ground	52	24	70	12
86739	Washington	ground	52	25	135	28
10717	Washington	ground	51	15	0	10
79936	Washington	ground	51	28	174	25
73159	Washington	ground	50	106	140	16
84785	Washington	ground	48	20	0	26
45935	Washington	ground	46	27	215	2
35868	Washington	ground	46	39	30	0
81125	Washington	ground	45	29	70	24
66267	Washington	ground	42	52	183	11
32927	Washington	ground	42	51	0	4
12913	Washington	ground	41	13	0	21
90123	Washington	ground	41	4	85	33
10116	Washington	ground	39	22	90	6
23546	Washington	ground	37	16	100	2
37318	Washington	ground	37	16	0	10
1127	Washington	ground	35	24	0	25
82025	Washington	ground	34	33	72	23
7186	Washington	ground	34	13	110	2
87296	Washington	ground	33	15	0	29
90124	Washington	ground	32	3	54	33
71937	Washington	ground	31	27	0	15
16362	Washington	ground	30	25	0	1
6602	Washington	ground	30	28	114	1
90126	Washington	ground	30	3	51	33
83417	Washington	ground	29	18	0	27
42217	Washington	ground	29	23	38	0
33323	Washington	ground	29	12	129	7
80844	Washington	ground	28	12	0	24
84786	Washington	ground	28	15	0	26
79940	Washington	ground	28	42	285	22
90125	Washington	ground	27	3	45	33
30671	Washington	ground	26	38	111	0
89431	Washington	ground	24	2	50	33
41180	Washington	ground	23	25	0	25
72072	Washington	ground	22	21	0	17
25477	Washington	ground	21	21	121	1
50996	Washington	ground	20	4	78	8
24289	Washington	ground	20	6	128	5
39414	Washington	ground	18	19	0	1
80501	Washington	ground	17	26	63	25
63435	Washington	ground	17	6	124	9
1177	Washington	ground	16	4	78	6
87166	Washington	ground	15	9	0	28
44058	Washington	ground	15	4	0	15
40589	Washington	ground	15	20	0	1
72001	Washington	ground	15	13	0	15
25603	Washington	ground	13	10	0	10
80153	Washington	ground	13	8	22	23
61843	Washington	ground	13	13	0	8
72000	Washington	ground	12	10	0	15
74175	Washington	ground	12	18	38	18
87167	Washington	ground	12	6	0	28
81668	Washington	ground	11	2	23	28
90495	Washington	ground	10	1	84	33
83006	Washington	ground	10	8	90	30
67237	Washington	ground	10	9	0	13
74434	Washington	ground	10	9	0	18
68746	Washington	ground	10	11	28	15
51972	Washington	ground	10	13	0	19
83703	Washington	ground	9	10	50	25
78743	Washington	ground	9	53	0	25
67238	Washington	ground	9	10	0	13
1394	Washington	ground	9	7	38	1
43387	Washington	ground	9	9	0	5
87911	Washington	ground	8	3	6	31
72265	Washington	ground	8	7	0	22
67242	Washington	ground	7	6	0	13
71376	Washington	ground	7	8	0	19
61677	Washington	ground	7	6	0	9
35657	Washington	ground	7	7	0	7
72425	Washington	ground	7	8	0	20
24876	Washington	ground	6	7	0	0
76961	Washington	ground	6	3	0	21
87168	Washington	ground	6	6	0	29
24886	Washington	ground	6	12	0	3
82050	Washington	ground	6	3	0	24
18735	Washington	ground	5	4	0	1
21511	Washington	ground	5	4	0	1
68947	Washington	ground	5	12	11	13
11838	Washington	ground	5	4	0	1
84653	Washington	ground	5	2	0	26
77067	Washington	ground	4	3	0	19
6165	Washington	ground	4	6	0	6
78054	Washington	ground	4	4	0	23
84654	Washington	ground	4	3	0	26
43104	Washington	ground	4	2	15	2
24791	Washington	ground	4	3	0	12
4522	Washington	ground	4	5	0	3
74433	Washington	ground	4	3	0	18
74777	Washington	ground	4	4	0	22
85235	Washington	ground	4	2	0	26
84777	Washington	ground	3	3	0	26
84628	Washington	ground	3	6	0	26
84796	Washington	ground	3	2	0	27
82048	Washington	ground	3	3	0	24
61593	Washington	ground	3	3	0	8
54619	Washington	ground	3	5	0	3
82049	Washington	ground	2	3	0	24
45340	Washington	ground	2	3	0	4
71375	Washington	ground	2	4	0	19
84762	Washington	ground	2	2	0	26
88280	Washington	ground	2	1	0	30
82047	Washington	ground	2	2	0	24
84627	Washington	ground	2	2	0	26
76960	Washington	ground	2	9	0	19
23703	Washington	ground	1	2	0	13
88281	Washington	ground	1	3	0	30
74432	Washington	ground	1	2	0	18
67241	Washington	ground	1	2	0	13
54566	Washington	ground	1	1	0	0
41834	Washington	ground	1	0	0	2
82850	Washington	ground	1	3	32	25
1548	Washington	ground	1	0	0	7
67243	Washington	ground	0	1	0	13
47576	Washington	ground	0	0	2	3
61678	Washington	ground	0	7	0	9
69591	Washington	ground	0	1	23	16
85415	Washington	ground	0	0	0	27
61592	Washington	ground	0	3	0	8
86602	Washington	ground	0	0	0	28
84795	Washington	ground	0	1	0	27
43661	Washington	ground	0	4	0	3
18063	Washington	ground	0	7	1	2
25222	Washington	ground	0	0	0	1
44259	Washington	ground	0	9	0	18
77212	Washington	ground	0	0	2	21
1128	Washington	ground	0	0	0	29
1141	Washington	ground	0	0	0	34

Part of a bigger picture: all 663 points in Washington County.