Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(a) An operator
may store water in an aquifer storage and recovery system under a permit to
appropriate water for artificial recharge if the water appropriated is source
water. The requirements of article 12 of the rules and regulations adopted by
the Kansas department of agriculture, division of water resources are in
addition to any requirements of the Kansas department of health and environment
concerning underground injection wells, including article 46 of the rules and
regulations adopted by the Kansas department of health and environment.
(b) Each application for a permit
to appropriate water for artificial recharge shall describe the horizontal and
vertical extent of the basin storage area in which the source water will be
stored.
(1) The horizontal extent shall be
determined by a closed boundary within which the recharge system used to store
the water will be physically located. The recharge system may include recharge
pits, recharge trenches, recharge wells, or other similar systems that cause
source water to enter the storage volume of the basin storage area, either by
gravity flow or by injection. The basin storage area may be subdivided into
smaller areas representative of the areas that may be recharged by the
individual recharge systems.
(2)
The vertical extent shall be defined by a minimum and a maximum index water
level for the basin recharge storage area, or for each subdivided area within
the basin storage area if the basin storage area is subdivided. The minimum
index water level shall be the lowest water level within the basin storage
area, or smaller subdivided area if the basin storage area is subdivided, that
occurred within the 10 years before the filing of the application for a permit
to appropriate water, or a period of time longer than 10 years demonstrated by
the applicant to reflect the lowest water level. If the basin storage area is
subdivided, measurements from the same year shall be used to determine the
minimum index water level for each subdivision. The maximum index water level
shall represent the maximum storage potential for the basin storage area.
(c) An application for
a permit to appropriate water for artificial recharge shall set forth the
maximum annual quantity and maximum rate of diversion of source water.
(d)
(1) Each application for a permit to
appropriate water for artificial recharge shall include a methodology for
accounting for water stored in a basin storage area both on an annual basis and
on a cumulative basis so that recharge credits can be calculated. If more than
one application for a permit to appropriate water for artificial recharge
relates to the same aquifer storage and recovery system, each application shall
use the same methodology for accounting for water stored in the basin storage
area. The accounting of the water balance of all water entering and leaving the
basin storage area shall be determined by using sound engineering methods based
on actual measurements, generally accepted engineering methodology, or a
combination of both.
(2) Approval
of any application for a permit to appropriate water for artificial recharge
shall be contingent upon the chief engineer's approval of the method for
accounting for the basin storage area.
(e) An applicant for recovery of water stored
by the holder of a permit to appropriate water for artificial recharge to store
water in a basin storage area shall obtain a permit separate from the aquifer
storage permit to appropriate water for beneficial use for each well used to
recover the water stored. The maximum annual quantity of water that may be
appropriated for this purpose shall be no more than the maximum cumulative
recharge credits available to the operator of the aquifer storage and recovery
system. These credits shall be determined by the accounting methodology
approved under a permit to appropriate water for artificial recharge pertaining
to the aquifer storage and recovery system. In determining whether diversion of
the annual quantity impairs other water rights, the following data may be
considered by the chief engineer:
(1) The
maximum storage volume available in the basin storage area;
(2) the spatial distribution of recharge and
withdrawal systems;
(3) the
maximum rate of diversion at which the water will be withdrawn; and
(4) any other relevant information.
Recharge credits may be accumulated over more than one year,
and any amount of recharge credits available may be withdrawn in accordance
with the permit if the withdrawal does not impair other water rights.
(f) The approval
of application, if the water to be diverted is the water artificially recharged
into the basin storage area, shall be conditioned upon the following:
(1) Generally accepted engineering
meth-odology;
(2) a maximum annual
quantity that does not exceed the recharge credits; and
(3) an annual reporting that complies with
K.A.R. 5-12-2.
