Kanopolis Reallocation

Purpose

Pursue reallocation of two-foot of flood pool to the conservation pool and purchase as water supply storage. This would increase available water supply and water supply storage within the Smoky Hill-Saline Regional Planning Area and help ensure water supply available from reservoir storage exceeds demand by at least 10% through the year 2060.

History

The state of Kansas has a unique partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local water suppliers. The state owns water supply storage in the Corps reservoirs and markets water to municipal and industrial users under long term contracts to meet their present and anticipated water needs.

The state of Kansas purchased 12,500 ac-ft (46.6%) of the multipurpose pool in Kanopolis Reservoir in June 2002. A Reallocation study finalized in Dec. 2001 found that an additional 7,500 ac-ft could be obtained from a 2-foot multipurpose pool raise into the flood pool which is needed to increase available supply and storage for the region. This 2-foot pool raise was found to not have a significant impact on existing project purposes. The study recognized however, that if this additional capacity was requested in the future, a dam safety certification would be required and the project would need to be certified to meet current Corps dam safety criteria. In addition, the study recognized a review of the existing NEPA documentation and any significant new information would be required prior to approval.

Timeline

2016 -The Kanopolis Dam was recently reclassified as a Dam Safety Action Classification (DSAC) 3. A request to reaffirm the need for a two-foot pool raise and the timeline is yet to be determined.

Current Updates

Due to the reclassification of the Dam and the requirement of a waiver from the regulation to pursue a request to increase the conservation pool, there is a hold on the project to determine the next steps forward. In addition to the cost to purchase reallocated storage space it appears that there are some significant hurdles before a reallocation is possible.

Funding

None at this time

Project Manager

Nathan Westrup