By Jennifer Latzke

Water resources on the High Plains are a precious commodity. A recent tour of the Garden City and Dodge City areas emphasized this point to a group of concerned citizens and local producers.

The Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy Tour, sponsored by K-State Research and Extension, Oct. 13 and 14, stopped at various water treatment facilities and other interesting sites in southwest Kansas. Attendees saw the advancements made in water treatment at the Dodge City Water Treatment Facility south of Dodge City. They listened to a representative from the local Excell Cargill Meat Solutions packing plant describe his facilities extreme measures to conserve water. And, a local conservationist described the role playa lakes play in the water cycle, among other stops and speakers.

To understand the need for the tour, it's important to see that the Upper Arkansas Watershed has several water issues that are unique in the state. Among them are:

--decreasing groundwater quantity;

--limited surface water;

--city water quality issues;

--no public water sources from lakes;

--and a lack of priority focus.

As a part of K-State Research and Extension's watershed education agenda, it coordinated various agency partnerships. On such partnership is the WRAPS program, which is a process of engaging watershed stakeholders, determining needs, identifying watershed goals and measuring progress. WRAPS is intended to unite stakeholders and synchronize current programs in place. Current Kansas WRAPS in place include the watersheds of Hillsdale, Fall River, Clinton, Kanopolis and Little Arkansas. Other watersheds are still researching the issue.

City water treatment

A prime example of cooperation among entities is the water treatment facility for Dodge City. The tour bus pulled into the driveway at the Dodge City Waste Treatment Facility south of Dodge City for the first stop of the morning. Joe Finley, public works director for the Dodge City Waste Treatment Irrigation Project discussed the treatment facility's water treatment system that uses center pivot irrigation in a key role.

The main facility consists of aerobic and anaerobic lagoons, through which the waste water travels and is purified. Gases from the treatment process are siphoned off and burned into the atmosphere, and the clean water is used to irrigate local crops. Three years ago the facility expanded to its current size of 65 acres, with 35-acre lagoons. In all, the treatment plant holds six months of stored water, or about five acre feet.

One way to capture the nutrients found in the waste water is through the application of it on irrigated crop circles. The permit the facility has states that any crops grown under their center pivots, using waste water, is to be classified for animal use only--no human consumption. So, those crops grown are sent to local feedlots, or used as a cover crop for the next season.

"We have to manage that ground well," Finley said. "We take soil samples, in about a 50-foot soil profile. We're concerned about any changes in nitrogen content."

Another interesting point about the facility, Finley explained, is that it's the only place locally where the underground aquifer has been truly recharged.

Industrial water conservation

At the scenic overlook just east of Dodge City, Kevin Shrader, with Cargill Meat Solutions, spoke to tour participants about the packing plant's water treatment system, and its impact on the local community and environment.

Shrader said Cargill began collecting and treating its own water in the 1990s and has improved its system since. A fully operational packing plant has just about the same issues as a small town when it comes to handling solid and liquid wastes, Shrader said.

Cargill invested $1.5 million for its treatment plant. It takes the waste water and treats about 90 percent of it before it is moved on to use in center pivot irrigation.

"Instead of having farmers irrigate starting in January and stopping in November, farmers can now irrigate when they need," Shrader said. The plant has 8.5 irrigation circles. Water from the plant is treated and then applied to about four of those circles. Cargill uses a consultant firm to check the quality of the soil to ensure there isn't any nitrogen buildup.

"We pretreat our water up front and get the largest items from the water," Shrader said. "This helps the load rate and consistency. Our treatment system is so reliable and consistent that we have the ability to go directly to the river with our former waste water. We use a UV disinfectant, which is really reliable." Cargill can run almost 1,500 acre feet of water.

Cargill also has the ability to capture and reuse the gases given off during the treatment process in its daily work. This saves the company $2,000 to $3,000 each day in its gas bill.

"Cargill has a goal to decrease the impact of its plants on the communities they're in," Shrader said. "We want it so that you don't even know they're running.

"By managing our resources, we can decrease our water used and we recycle almost 200,000 gallons of water every day," he continued. "We have to have water to run the plant. The amount of water we have left to use will affect the plant's operations in the next few years."

Protecting nature's bounty

At the Herron Playa, in rural Ford County, Mike Peterson of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and the Kansas Alliance of Wetlands and Streams spoke on the effect playa lakes have on wildlife and how they recharge watersheds.

The fall season is when playas are at their peak. Migratory waterfowl and shore birds, such as mallards, sandhill cranes, and the occasional rare whooping crane, can be found there. The ecosystem of a playa provides abundant wildlife for birds to feast upon.

"Duck season opens soon and hunters will use this playa," Peterson said.

The Herron Playa was originally three miles, Peterson said, and eventually the KDWP/KAWS would like to acquire more land to extend the playa. Currently there are 780 acres of land put into the playa since 1992. That's about 210 acres of wetlands and 570 acres of natural grasses and crops. The farm crops that are raised on the playa are sold to provide funds for maintaining the playa.

There are two dikes that allow KDWP/KAWS to control the water levels on the playa. The north pool has about 750 acre feet when full and the south has about 139 acre feet. Peterson said the U.S. Geographical Service has surveyed playa lakes and found them to be a prime source for aquifer recharging.

"We see the low reservoir recharging the aquifer at about three inches per year and the upper reservoir at about one inch per year," he said. Playas have also been important in the history of mankind. There's a phenomenon known as a "lunette" where the southeast side of any playa will have a soil profile that will be the exact inverse of a soil sample taken from the middle of the playa. This is due to the movement of soil by wind, water and animals. Archaeological records show Native Americans would gravitate toward these lunettes and settle there because of the abundance of wildlife.

Peterson rounded out his stop by emphasizing that it's everyone's responsibility to practice conservation and to protect not just the playas, but other water resources as well.

Other stops on the tour included a stop in Kinsley to discuss the Coon Creek Flood Project and the Circle K Ranch; a visit to Ward Feed Yard to learn about manure management plans; a stop near Pawnee Rock to learn about studies determining water use in riparian areas; a stop near Jetmore to discuss the Schlereth/Buckner Creek Horsethief Reservoir; and many more. For more information on the tour, any of its many stops, or the WRAPS program, call Robert Frisbie at 620-659-2149, or a nearby county K-State Research and Extension Office.

Jennifer Latzke can be reached by phone at 620-227-1807, or by e-mail at jlatzke@hpj.com.