All counties placed on drought watch as heat wave creeps across Kansas

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - All 105 Kansas counties have been placed under at least a drought watch as a record heat wave makes its way across the Sunflower State.

The Kansas Water Office says on Monday, June 27, Governor Laura Kelly signed Executive Order #22-06 which declared updated drought emergencies for Kansas counties.

The Office said the declaration puts all 105 counties in the Sunflower State either on a watch, warning or emergency status.

“A significant portion of the state of Kansas has experienced drought or abnormally dry conditions for the past several months,” said Governor Kelly. “Unfortunately, these conditions are forecast to persist or get worse, so I strongly encourage Kansans to be mindful of drought conditions while we work to minimize the threat of fires across the state.”

The Office noted that the declaration put 34 counties in emergency status, 8 in a warning and 63 into a watch, as recommended by Director Connie Owen - chair of the Governor’s Drought Response Team.

While most of the state has seen high precipitation throughout the month of June, the Office said a record-breaking heat wave has made its way across the area. It said most of eastern Kansas is currently drought-free, however, the forecasted hot and dry conditions will likely rapidly lead to intense drought conditions over the next few weeks.

“We have watched drought conditions in parts of the state continue to get worse since this past fall or longer in some areas, causing concern with groundwater supplies, crop production, elevated wildfire risk and more,” said Owen. “The Governor’s Drought Response Team will continue to monitor the situation and make recommendations to the Governor as necessary. As future outlooks call for hot and dry conditions to continue into July, the potential for a “flash drought” is likely.”

The Office indicated that an interagency agreement between it, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and the Kansas Division of Emergency Management has made it possible for counties in a drought emergency to use water from certain fishing lakes. It also said these counties can become eligible le for water in some Federal reservoirs.

The Office said Kansans and communities should contact it for a water supply request before any withdrawals from lakes. It said these requests will be referred to the appropriate office to obtain the necessary permits to withdraw the requested water.

According to the Office, the order will remain in effect until it is rescinded by another Executive Order which ends or revises the drought stage status of affected counties.

The Office noted that the order authorizes and directs all agencies under the Governor’s jurisdiction to implement appropriate response actions according to the Operations Plan of the Governor’s Drought Response Team. It said the team will continue to watch the situation closely and work to minimize the effects on Kansans.

The Office said the drought stage declarations are as follows:

• Emergency -
  • Cheyenne
  • Clark
  • Comanche
  • Decatur
  • Edwards
  • Finney
  • Ford
  • Gove
  • Graham
  • Grant
  • Gray
  • Greeley
  • Hamilton
  • Haskell
  • Hodgeman
  • Kearny
  • Kiowa
  • Lane
  • Logan
  • Meade
  • Morton
  • Ness
  • Norton
  • Rawlins
  • Scott
  • Seward
  • Sheridan
  • Sherman
  • Stanton
  • Stevens
  • Thomas
  • Trego
  • Wallace
  • Wichita
• Warning -
  • Barber
  • Ellis
  • Pawnee
  • Phillips
  • Pratt
  • Rooks
  • Rush
  • Stafford
• Watch -
  • Allen
  • Anderson
  • Atchison
  • Barton
  • Bourbon
  • Brown
  • Butler
  • Chase
  • Chautauqua
  • Cherokee
  • Clay
  • Cloud
  • Coffey
  • Cowley
  • Crawford
  • Dickinson
  • Doniphan
  • Douglas
  • Elk
  • Ellsworth
  • Franklin
  • Geary
  • Greenwood
  • Harper
  • Harvey
  • Jackson
  • Jefferson
  • Jewell
  • Johnson
  • Kingman
  • Labette
  • Leavenworth
  • Lincoln
  • Linn
  • Lyon
  • Marion
  • Marshall
  • McPherson
  • Miami
  • Mitchell
  • Montgomery
  • Morris
  • Nemaha
  • Neosho
  • Osage
  • Osborne
  • Ottawa
  • Pottawatomie
  • Reno
  • Republic
  • Rice
  • Riley
  • Russell
  • Saline
  • Sedgwick
  • Shawnee
  • Smith
  • Sumner
  • Wabaunsee
  • Washington
  • Wilson
  • Woodson
  • Wyandotte

For more information about the current drought order, click HERE.

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