TOPEKA — The Kansas Water Office says this week’s announcement about new plans to reduce sediment in federal reservoirs, including John Redmond, is a big deal for the state and a big opportunity for landowner along waterways feeding into these lakes.
Water Office Director Tracy Streeter tells KVOE News prior efforts had some success at the local level, but Wednesday’s announcement should give more landowners a chance to get involved.
The plan offers assistance to landowners in “targeted sub-watersheds,” including residents of Lyon, Coffey and Greenwood counties. Landowners interested in taking part told to reach out to their local county conservation district or Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) coordinator, and Streeter says landowners interested in taking part should apply as soon as possible because the first wave of approvals could come by early September.
In a separate but related piece of news, Streeter says a unique dredging project from earlier this decade was a success. Streeter says the dredging and the sediment reduction plan are part of the same effort to lengthen the lives of these reservoirs.
The project at Redmond was the first of its kind nationwide where a state agency led the dredging of an Army Corps of Engineers-maintained lake. Streeter says the state has an application filed with the Corps of Engineers that deals with the benefits of sediment. That could lead to a second round of dredging, but the future of any similar project has not been determined.
