Kansas water use in 2019
4,714,914 acre-feet reported across 25,631 points — 10% below the 1990–2023 average.
4,714,914Acre-feet
25,631Points reporting
3,082,211Acres irrigated
-10%vs 34-yr average
What 2019 was
Kansas reported 4,714,914 acre-feet in 2019, 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 25,631. That number moves far less than the volume does, in 2019 as in every other year.
Which counties used the most in 2019
| County | Acre-feet | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Douglas | 1,626,850 | 34.5% |
| Finney | 235,995 | 5.0% |
| Stevens | 188,688 | 4.0% |
| Kearny | 175,417 | 3.7% |
| Gray | 146,073 | 3.1% |
| Meade | 141,973 | 3.0% |
| Seward | 138,246 | 2.9% |
| Haskell | 125,211 | 2.7% |
| Edwards | 98,738 | 2.1% |
| Grant | 96,378 | 2.0% |
| Pratt | 91,912 | 1.9% |
| Ford | 91,679 | 1.9% |
| Wyandotte | 90,193 | 1.9% |
| Stafford | 87,707 | 1.9% |
| Sherman | 84,799 | 1.8% |
| Stanton | 83,022 | 1.8% |
| Sedgwick | 76,390 | 1.6% |
| Reno | 63,324 | 1.3% |
| Pawnee | 62,197 | 1.3% |
| Kiowa | 61,055 | 1.3% |
| Thomas | 55,721 | 1.2% |
| Cheyenne | 42,200 | 0.9% |
| Hamilton | 41,902 | 0.9% |
| Morton | 38,996 | 0.8% |
| Harvey | 38,096 | 0.8% |
By management district in 2019
| District | Acre-feet | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Outside any district | 2,264,314 | 48.0% |
| Southwest Kansas GMD 3 | 1,476,286 | 31.3% |
| Big Bend GMD 5 | 463,817 | 9.8% |
| Northwest Kansas GMD 4 | 246,778 | 5.2% |
| Equus Beds GMD 2 | 151,877 | 3.2% |
| Western Kansas GMD 1 | 111,842 | 2.4% |