[lurker]

The day will come when the alcohol producers will be begging for every drop of water.

A state water board on Wednesday (April 4, 2007) unexpectedly pushed reducing groundwater consumption in western Kansas toward the top of a priority list of the Kansas Water Office's new five-year strategic plan.

The Kansas Water Authority, in Hutchinson for its quarterly meeting, approved an outline for the five-point plan, but not before bumping the start of the western Kansas issue forward by at least a year.

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In a lengthy discussion on the plan, members of the 24-person authority expressed concerns about the potential for even more rapid decline of the Ogallala Aquifer, part of the High Plains, because of rapid, massive growth of the ethanol industry in the region and its demand for irrigated corn. Renewal of or changes in the U.S. farm policy also will have some impact.

Part of the effort, said board member Lisa French of Partridge, will explore what barriers there are to reducing consumption of the groundwater and how to reduce those barriers.

"There are policy barriers, and a lot of social and political barriers as well," French said. "Four-dollar corn is certainly a barrier. But at some point, reductions are going to be forced."

The plan calls for establishment of a High Plains Aquifer Management Advisory Committee to review research and programs already under way or proposed, to examine potential future impacts on water needs, and to make recommendations on proactive actions that would improve management, conservation and diversification efforts.

The Hutchinson News, Hutchinson, Kan., | Regional News