The future of water and conservation are the key areas of focus during the governor’s water conference going on this week in Manhattan.
Among Tuesday’s speakers was Tom Kula, executive director of the North Texas Municipal Water District who shared some permitting reform recommendations his agency has noticed as they began construction recently on his state’s first major reservoir in 30 years. Part of that he says is improving innovative ways to share the reservoirs and resources they already have.
Part of those new approaches, he says, come in the area of floodwater management.
Kula also spoke to removing some of the federal red tape to streamline the permitting process in two to three years rather than waiting up to a decade to be able to build out new reservoirs.
Kula spoke to the need for federal legislation to impose a statute of limitations on lawsuits to stop a project. Those suits can delay construction up to five years.
Kula says building new reservoirs will be essential for states like Kansas in the future as pressure increases on state public water supplies.
The governor’s water conference continues Wednesday at the Manhattan Conference Center. Among the topics to be discussed will be a discussion on improving water quality as well as drought monitoring and flood response. K-State’s Director of Pollution Prevention Institute Nancy Larson and K-State Scientist and Meteorologist Christopher Redmond are scheduled to speak to those topics.
