Municipal Water Use in Northwestern Kansas

Abstract

Municipal water use during 1980-1985 was examined for ten small northwestern Kansas communities. Annual water use varied drastically from 210,000 to 375,000 liters/person across the region. Water use (per capita basis) during the winter months was somewhat similar among the cities, suggesting that a base amount is needed by all consumers in the region. Water use during the summer varied spatially, increasing significantly westward from Hays to Goodland. Annual water use was determined to be inversely and linearly related to annual precipitation. Summer water use was determined to decrease linearly as the cost of water increased. Water costs and precipitation both decrease from east to west in the study area. Additional geographical characteristics such as attitudes of the populace, governmental regulations, and type of lawns, could not be factored out with the available data. Water is a precious resource that should be used wisely so there will be adequate supplies now and for future generations. In Kansas, quality water for human consumption is obtained both from surface and groundwater supplies. In the western part of the state, most water for municipal use is obtained from the Ogallala aquifer or from shallow aquifers along rivers (alluvial aquifers). Water from the Ogallala aquifer is generally high in quality and low in soluble salts, which make it excellent for municipalities as well as for irrigation. Irrigation accounts for over 90% of the total water used in northwestern Kansas. The decline in the Ogallala aquifer and water shortages in the alluvial aquifers emphasize the need for conservation of water by all users. Municipalities in northwestern Kansas are relatively small (population < 10,000) and generally have few or no major water-using industries. Lawn watering is widely practiced in northwestern Kansas because of the low precipitation and high evaporative demand in the area. A study was initiated to examine This content downloaded from 157.55.39.87 on Mon, 05 Jun 2017 18:26:39 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 126 TRANSACTIONS OF THE KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE Table 1. Summary of background data for the 10 cities in the study area. Avg. annual Avg. annual Assessed temperature precipitation valuation Municipality County (degrees C) (mm) Population ($ million) Atwood Rawlins 12 533 1665 3.18 Colby Thomas 11 483 5611 12.65 Ellis Ellis 12 584 2110 2.50 Goodland Sherman 11 432 5000 11.89 Hays Ellis 12 584 17,554 33.57 Hoxie Sheridan 12 533 1400 2.46 Norton Norton 12 584 3390 6.38 Oberlin Decatur 12 533 2623 4.86 Phillipsburg Phillips 12 635 3302 7.20 St. Francis Cheyenne 12 457 1800 3.54 municipal water use in northwestern Kansas and to determine the major factors affecting it. STUDY PROCEDURE Twelve cities were selected from northwestern counties on the basis of population and location. Generally only county seats were selected. The towns in northwestern Kansas are small with relatively small water supplies, so only cities of population greater than 1400 were selected. A questionnaire was sent to the city management staff of these 12 cities asking for detailed water use information (1980-1985) and for additional information about the city. This additional information consisted of the estimated population, the source of the water supply, amount of large water-using industries, and the water rate structure. Responses were received from the staffs of 10 of the 12 cities. The data were examined for accuracy and any questionable information was clarified with the respondents by telephone. The data were tabulated on microcomputer for analysis. Additional background information such as population (1970 census), climate and assessed valuation was obtained from community profiles prepared by Kansas Department of Economic Development (KDED, 1978). Some apparent inaccuracies in climatic data in the KDED profiles were corrected with use of the 1980 annual climatic summary for Kansas (NOAA, 1980). Water use by a particular city was normalized to a per capita basis to account for population differences. A single population estimate based on the best available information was used for the entire 1980-1985 period. Estimated population is published annually by the Kansas Government Journal, January edition. The month of actual water use is usually different than the billing month. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.87 on Mon, 05 Jun 2017 18:26:39 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms VOLUME 94, NUMBERS 3-4 127 I I I I I I I I I I 1 Atwood 700 2 Colby 3 Ellis 4 Goodl and E 5 Haus v 6 Hoxle 7 Norton Z 8 Ober lin 00 9 Phllllpsburg 6-10 St. Francis