The Kansas Aqueduct Committee recently met in Salina to discuss the viability of taking water out of the Missouri river and diverting across the state to Western Kansas. This report comes from Kansas Agland.
The conversation flowed smoothly until Committee member Tim Rhodd, expressed disapproval of the concrete-lined ditch. Rhodd is the chairman of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska. He says the project will push his region into the same water crisis facing the western part of the state.
Clay Scott is a farmer and a board member from Ulysses. He says the Missouri River flood flows aren’t serving any good. Scott went on to tell Rhodd, “I want to sit here with you to see if there is a win-win.”
Judy Wegemer-Stevens is a board member from White Cloud. She says the board is clearly split on the issue.
Officials with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources also attended the meeting, but declined comment.
Later, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon expressed firm opposition to the plan in his State of the State speech, calling the idea “harebrained.”
