State Water Plan Fund, Kansas Water Authority, and State Water Plan

State Water Plan Fund

The State Water Plan Fund is a statutory fund (KSA 82a-951) that was created by the 1989 Legislature for the purpose of implementing the State Water Plan (KSA 82a-903). The State Water Plan Fund is subject to appropriation acts by the Legislature and may be used for the establishment and implementation of water-related projects or programs and related technical assistance. Funding from the State Water Plan Fund may not be used to replace full-time equivalent (FTE) positions or for recreational projects that do not meet the goals or objectives of the State Water Plan.

Revenue

Revenue for the State Water Plan Fund is generated from the following sources.
Water protection fees. A water protection fee of $0.03 per 1,000 gallons of water is assessed on the following:

• Water sold at retail by public water supply systems;
• Water appropriated for industrial use; and
• Water appropriated for watering livestock.

Fees imposed on fertilizer and pesticides. A tonnage fee on fertilizer and a fee for the registration of pesticides is assessed and transferred to the State Water Plan Fund in the following amounts:

• Inspection fees are imposed on each ton of fertilizer sold, offered or exposed for sale, or distributed in Kansas. Of that fee, $1.40 per ton is credited to the State Water Plan Fund; and
• Every agricultural chemical that is distributed, sold, or offered for sale within the state must be registered, with an annual fee assessed for each registration. The law requires that $100 from each registration fee be credited to the State Water Plan Fund.

Sand royalty receipts. A fee of $0.15 per ton of sand sold is deposited in the State Water Plan Fund.

Pollution fines. Certain fines and penalties are levied by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) for water-related pollution, including:

• Violation of terms or conditions relating to public water supply systems;
• Commission of prohibited acts in relation to the operation of a public water supply system; and
• Violations of law governing the disposal of solid and hazardous waste.

Clean water drinking fee. A clean water drinking fee of $0.03 per 1,000 gallons of water is assessed on retail water sold by a public water supply system and delivered through mains, lines, or pipes. Since July 1, 2007, revenue from the clean water drinking fee has been distributed as follows:

• 5/106 to the State Highway Fund;
• Of the remaining, not less than 15.0 percent for on-site technical assistance for public water supply systems; and
• The remainder to renovate and protect lakes used for public water supply.

State General Fund transfer. By statute, $6.0 million annually is to be transferred from the State General Fund (SGF) to the State Water Plan Fund. In recent fiscal years, this amount has been reduced in appropriations bills. The 2020 Legislature approved a transfer from the SGF to the State Water Plan Fund of $4.0 million for fiscal year (FY) 2020 and the full statutory transfer of $6.0 million for FY 2021.

Economic Development Initiatives Fund transfer. By statute, $2.0 million is to be transferred from the Economic Development Initiatives Fund to the State Water Plan Fund. The 2020 Legislature approved a transfer from the Economic Development Initiatives Fund to the State Water Plan Fund of $500,000 for FY 2020 and $913,325 for FY 2021.

State Water Plan Fund Receipts and Transfers*

Receipts and Transfers In	FY 2019 Actual	FY 2020 Approved	FY 2021 Approved
State General Fund	$2,750,000	$4,005,632	$6,000,000
Economic Development Initiatives Fund	500,000	500,000	913,325
Municipal Water Fees	3,364,968	3,208,301	3,305,836
Industrial Water Fees	931,122	950,983	930,000
Stock Water Fees	336,237	430,297	350,000
Pesticide Registration Fees	1,382,211	1,374,886	1,390,000
Fertilizer Registration Fees	3,630,506	3,584,360	3,638,611
Pollution Fines and Penalties	220,533	150,000	230,000
Sand Royalty Receipts	31,153	16,466	30,000
Clean Drinking Water Fees	2,995,608	2,710,279	2,800,000
Total Receipts/Transfers In	$16,142,338	$16,931,204	$19,587,772

Expenditures

Expenditures from the State Water Plan Fund are based on priorities of the State Water Plan.

The State Water Plan is developed and approved by the Kansas Water Authority. The following table summarizes recent actual and approved expenditures from the State Water Plan Fund.

State Water Plan Fund Expenditures

Agency/Project	FY 2019 Actual	FY 2020 Approved	FY 2021 Approved
Department of Agriculture
Interstate Water Issues	438,457	584,172	490,007
Water Use Study	47,600	142,778	72,600
Basin Management	463,386	777,957	608,949
Water Resources Cost Share	1,869,148	2,571,508	2,698,289
Nonpoint Source Pollution Assistance	1,720,546	2,299,045	1,857,836
Aid to Conservation Districts	2,092,637	2,192,637	2,342,637
Water Transition Assistance/CREP	223,589	469,367	699,745
Watershed Dam Construction	550,000	550,000	750,000
Water Quality Buffer Initiative	110,506	414,516	200,000
Riparian & Wetland Program	200,546	479,997	154,024
Streambank Stabilization	0	1,000,000	750,000
Irrigation Technology	67,460	132,540	100,000
Crop and Livestock Water Research	0	350,000	350,000
Crop Research-Hemp	100,000	0	0
Crop Research- Sorghum	150,000	0	0
Water Supply Restoration Program	0	0	0
Real-Time Water Management-Telemetry	0	0	0
Subtotal – Department of Agriculture	8,033,875	11,964,517	11,074,087
Kansas Water Office
Assessment and Evaluation	401,454	796,522	829,900
MOU – Storage Operation and Maintenance	367,702	410,000	480,100
Technical Assistance to Water Users	341,000	348,219	325,000
Streamgaging	413,580	423,130	423,130
Kansas River Alluvial Aquifer Observation	50,000	0	0
Reservoir Bathymetric Surveys	200,000	350,000	350,000
Watershed Conservation Practices Implementation	900,000	700,000	1,000,000
Milford Lake Regional Conservation Partnership Program	400,000
Water Vision Education	100,000	100,000	100,000
Streambank Stabilization Effectiveness Research	100,000	0
Harmful Algae Bloom Research	100,000	0
Water Technology Farms	75,000	75,000	75,000
Equus Beds Chloride Plume	50,000	50,000	50,000
Arbuckle Study	0	68,000	0
Water Injection Dredging	0	0	660,000
Water Resource Planner	101,791	0	0
Flood Response Study	100,000	0
Subtotal – Kansas Water Office	3,600,527	3,620,871	4,493,130
Kansas Department of Health and Environment-Division of Environment
Contamination Remediation	700,955	1,088,301	1,088,301
Total Maximum Daily Load	271,439	290,871	280,738
Nonpoint Source Program	251,031	365,880	303,208
Harmful Algae Bloom Pilot	6,870	893,130	450,000
Watershed Restoration and Protection (WRAPS)	625,874	840,898	730,884
Drinking Water Protection Program	0	350,000	350,000
Subtotal – KDHE-Environment	1,856,169	3,829,080	3,203,131
University of Kansas
Geological Survey	26,841	26,841	26,841
Total Agency/Project Expenditures	13,517,412	19,441,309	18,797,189

Kansas Water Authority

The Kansas Water Authority (Authority) is a 24-member board that provides water policy advice to the Governor, the Legislature, and the Director of the Kansas Water Office. The Authority is responsible for approving water storage sales, the State Water Plan, federal water contracts, and regulations and legislation proposed by the Kansas Water Office. The Authority meets quarterly. The Authority consists of 13 voting members and 11 ex officio members.

Voting membership includes:

• One member appointed by the Governor (also serving as chairperson);
• One member appointed by the President of the Senate;
• One member appointed by the Speaker of the House;
• A representative of large municipal water users;
• A representative of small municipal water users;
• A board member of a western Kansas Groundwater Management District (including districts 1, 3, and 4);
• A board member of a central Kansas Groundwater Management District (including districts 2 and 5);
• A member of the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts;
• A representative of industrial water users;
• A member of the State Association of Watershed Districts;
• A member with a demonstrated background and interest in water use, conservation, and environmental issues; and
• Two representatives of the general public.

Ex officio membership includes:

• The State Geologist;
• The Chief Engineer of the Division of Water Resources of the Kansas Department of Agriculture;
• The Secretary of Health and Environment;
• The Director of the Kansas Water Office (also serving as secretary);
• The Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station of Kansas State University;
• The Chairperson of the Kansas Corporation Commission;
• The Secretary of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism;
• The Secretary of Commerce;
• The Executive Director of the Division of Conservation of the Kansas Department of Agriculture;
• The Secretary of Agriculture; and
• The Director of the Kansas Biological Survey.

One primary responsibility of the Authority is to consider and approve policy for inclusion in the State Water Plan. The State Water Plan includes policy recommendations that have specific statewide or local impact and priority issues and recommendations for each of the 12 river basins in Kansas.

Budgetary Process

Historically, the Division of the Budget has assigned allocations to each agency for the expenditure of State Water Plan Fund moneys.

Beginning with the FY 2008 budget cycle, the Authority and the Division of the Budget agreed to allow the Authority to develop a budget recommendation in lieu of the Division’s allocation process.

A budget subcommittee of the Authority meets in the summer to develop a State Water Plan Fund budget proposal. The budget is presented to the full Authority each August. The Authority-approved budget is used by the state agencies to develop their budgets.
The Governor’s budget includes recommended expenditures for the State Water Plan Fund when it is presented to the Legislature each January.