Kansas water use in 2017
5,468,202 acre-feet reported across 26,500 points — 5% above the 1990–2023 average.
5,468,202Acre-feet
26,500Points reporting
3,155,015Acres irrigated
+5%vs 34-yr average
What 2017 was
Kansas reported 5,468,202 acre-feet in 2017, 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 26,500. That number moves far less than the volume does, in 2017 as in every other year.
Which counties used the most in 2017
| County | Acre-feet | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Douglas | 1,975,959 | 36.1% |
| Finney | 234,360 | 4.3% |
| Stevens | 176,466 | 3.2% |
| Meade | 159,632 | 2.9% |
| Seward | 159,438 | 2.9% |
| Kearny | 156,813 | 2.9% |
| Gray | 151,640 | 2.8% |
| Haskell | 147,250 | 2.7% |
| Edwards | 119,323 | 2.2% |
| Sedgwick | 107,192 | 2.0% |
| Pratt | 102,254 | 1.9% |
| Ford | 99,035 | 1.8% |
| Stafford | 94,597 | 1.7% |
| Grant | 91,963 | 1.7% |
| Sherman | 88,640 | 1.6% |
| Wyandotte | 87,476 | 1.6% |
| Stanton | 82,566 | 1.5% |
| Reno | 80,668 | 1.5% |
| Pawnee | 77,099 | 1.4% |
| Thomas | 76,291 | 1.4% |
| Kiowa | 67,368 | 1.2% |
| Sheridan | 53,442 | 1.0% |
| Harvey | 52,363 | 1.0% |
| Cheyenne | 46,056 | 0.8% |
| Barton | 45,670 | 0.8% |
By management district in 2017
| District | Acre-feet | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Outside any district | 2,795,501 | 51.1% |
| Southwest Kansas GMD 3 | 1,510,793 | 27.6% |
| Big Bend GMD 5 | 536,456 | 9.8% |
| Northwest Kansas GMD 4 | 302,087 | 5.5% |
| Equus Beds GMD 2 | 199,609 | 3.7% |
| Western Kansas GMD 1 | 123,756 | 2.3% |