ks-water-use

Kansas water use in 2012

5,736,318 acre-feet reported across 26,674 points — 10% above the 1990–2023 average.

5,736,318Acre-feet
26,674Points reporting
3,069,607Acres irrigated
+10%vs 34-yr average

What 2012 was

Kansas reported 5,736,318 acre-feet in 2012, against a 1990–2023 average of 5,214,505. Reported use follows the weather far more than anything else, so a single year says more about rainfall than about policy — which is why every page on this site shows the whole series rather than a comparison between two years.

The count of points reporting any use was 26,674. That number moves far less than the volume does, in 2012 as in every other year.

Which counties used the most in 2012

CountyAcre-feetShare
Douglas889,05315.5%
Finney361,4236.3%
Stevens267,3944.7%
Haskell237,4284.1%
Gray223,6313.9%
Meade210,2003.7%
Seward203,0843.5%
Sherman177,2543.1%
Kearny161,6762.8%
Grant161,0532.8%
Thomas138,6152.4%
Stanton132,9422.3%
Edwards128,0292.2%
Ford126,1282.2%
Sedgwick125,1492.2%
Pratt114,0582.0%
Stafford112,7742.0%
Sheridan100,4791.8%
Wyandotte97,8641.7%
Reno95,1821.7%
Pawnee90,3641.6%
Jewell88,2521.5%
Cheyenne73,8261.3%
Kiowa70,4111.2%
Wallace68,6861.2%

By management district in 2012

DistrictAcre-feetShare
Southwest Kansas GMD 32,167,84837.8%
Outside any district1,942,68433.9%
Big Bend GMD 5609,32210.6%
Northwest Kansas GMD 4550,2199.6%
Western Kansas GMD 1236,9574.1%
Equus Beds GMD 2229,2884.0%

Other years