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Kansas water forum targets pumping in Colorado

Rep. Rick Billinger
Rep. Rick Billinger

ST. FRANCIS, Kan. (AP) — A meeting is planned for this week in Kansas to discuss concerns about using water pumped from the Ogallala Aquifer in northeast Colorado to help satisfy streamflow requirements on the Republican River.

The Salina Journal reports that the gathering Tuesday in St. Francis will include Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback along with agriculture and water officials.

Rep. Rick Billinger, a Goodland Republican, aims to gather input on the pumping project and “possible ways to preserve the Ogallala for future users.” He says the pumping project benefits the river’s north fork, which doesn’t enter Kansas until it reaches Jewell County, in the north-central part of the state. The south fork dips into Kansas through Cheyenne County and flows back into Nebraska.

Two similar augmentation projects just ceased in western Nebraska.

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