A matter involving a dispute about water rights between the city of Manhattan and USD 383 was heard in the Kansas Court of Appeals Monday. A decision is not expected for up to 60 days.
The case involves whether the city should continue to provide free water to Manhattan/Ogden public schools in the city, except for outdoor irrigation. The free water had been provided since an agreement in 1887, in which the Purcells deeded three tracts of real estate to Manhattan, stipulating that the city supply free water to all the public schools in “perpetuity.”
A reminder that in November of 2010 the city commission adopted a resolution stating intentions to cease providing free water to public schools beginning July first of 2011. Early this year, the local court granted the city’s motion for summary judgment, and dismissed the case, but the school district appealed the court’s ruling.
