Kansas water use in 2023
4,482,689 acre-feet reported across 26,192 points — 14% below the 1990–2023 average.
4,482,689Acre-feet
26,192Points reporting
3,308,579Acres irrigated
-14%vs 34-yr average
What 2023 was
Kansas reported 4,482,689 acre-feet in 2023, 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 26,192. That number moves far less than the volume does, in 2023 as in every other year.
Which counties used the most in 2023
| County | Acre-feet | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Douglas | 900,517 | 20.1% |
| Finney | 219,288 | 4.9% |
| Stevens | 207,511 | 4.6% |
| Seward | 159,496 | 3.6% |
| Meade | 154,452 | 3.4% |
| Gray | 151,760 | 3.4% |
| Haskell | 145,196 | 3.2% |
| Kearny | 143,771 | 3.2% |
| Edwards | 113,474 | 2.5% |
| Sedgwick | 108,891 | 2.4% |
| Grant | 104,222 | 2.3% |
| Wyandotte | 102,762 | 2.3% |
| Pratt | 99,716 | 2.2% |
| Ford | 96,916 | 2.2% |
| Stafford | 92,560 | 2.1% |
| Sherman | 88,363 | 2.0% |
| Stanton | 87,212 | 1.9% |
| Reno | 84,909 | 1.9% |
| Thomas | 73,772 | 1.6% |
| Pawnee | 72,200 | 1.6% |
| Kiowa | 67,915 | 1.5% |
| Jewell | 67,781 | 1.5% |
| Harvey | 57,888 | 1.3% |
| Sheridan | 57,237 | 1.3% |
| Morton | 45,241 | 1.0% |
By management district in 2023
| District | Acre-feet | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Outside any district | 1,801,644 | 40.2% |
| Southwest Kansas GMD 3 | 1,532,075 | 34.2% |
| Big Bend GMD 5 | 521,143 | 11.6% |
| Northwest Kansas GMD 4 | 300,312 | 6.7% |
| Equus Beds GMD 2 | 216,534 | 4.8% |
| Western Kansas GMD 1 | 110,980 | 2.5% |