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Kansas Supreme Court to hear water rights caseLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP)--A dispute over the use of 1.2 billion gallons of groundwater from the Kansas River Valley will go to the Kansas Supreme Court. An attorney for area farmer and vintner Greg Shipe said June 13 that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge of a water district's use of eminent domain laws to pump groundwater from the valley between Lawrence and Eudora. "At the end of the day, we're seeing a water supply district that is somewhat of a rogue, somewhat of a black sheep," said Burke Griggs, a Lawrence lawyer specializing in water law. "This has never been done before in the state." Shipe and other area farmers argue that the law doesn't allow the water district to condemn property in order to obtain water rights. But Todd Luckman, an attorney working for the water district, said the district can use eminent domain to install water pipes, pump stations and other infrastructure. He said it's similar to using eminent domain to get an easement to drill a well. A date for a hearing before the Kansas Supreme Court has not been set. Douglas County District Court Judge Robert Fairchild sided with the water district in April and the Supreme Court accepted the case before it went to an appeals court. The case could have major significance for eminent domain laws, Griggs said, but Shipe is pursuing the case to protect his future agricultural operations. Shipe grows grapes and other produce at his Davenport Orchards & Winery. He said many farmers in the valley are interested in growing fruits and vegetables but those crops will need irrigation to survive the Kansas weather. Shipe said the amount of water the district is seeking would make it impossible for farmers to switch to new types of agriculture operations. "The term that is used is dewatering the valley," Shipe said. "We basically would have to go to dryland farming, and the value of the property would just go through the floor." Shipe and Griggs say the water district should seek available water rights from the Kansas River. Leaders of the water district say they have a right to use the groundwater because the district is not trying to take any existing water rights. Instead, the district is seeking to prove that the area has additional water that is not currently being used. Larry Wray, chairman of the wholesale water district and the leader of Douglas County Rural Water District No. 5, has said in the past that the wholesale district is seeking the new water to ensure its member districts have enough water to serve households for the next 50 years. The wholesale water district was formed by Douglas County Rural Water Districts No. 5 and No. 2 and by Osage County Rural Water District No. 5. The water pumped from the valley would be used in parts of southern Douglas County and areas in Osage, Franklin and Shawnee counties. None of the water would be going to users in the valley. Griggs said he's concerned that the wholesale water district will ship the water to Johnson County. He said the amount of water the district is seeking from the valley--three permits that would allow for pumping of about 3,600 acre feet per year--seems excessive. "If they only use a third of that, they could sell about 2,000 acre feet outside the district at whatever rate they see fit," Griggs said. "That's water speculation." 6/23/08 Date: 6/19/08 Advertisement
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