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Rattlesnake Creek WTAP sign-up began Oct. 1Kansas The State Conservation Commission will begin accepting applications for the Water Right Retirement Program, WTAP, beginning Oct. 1. WTAP is a voluntary, incentive-based program designed to help restore aquifers and streams in critical areas. The Rattlesnake Creek subbasin has been selected as a pilot project target area because of the significant water issues being addressed by the State of Kansas, the Big Bend Groundwater Management District No. 5, and the Rattlesnake /Quivera Partnership. The "High Priority" areas of this basin in Barton, Rice, Reno, Stafford, Pawnee, Pratt, Edwards, Kiowa, Ford and Clark counties have been designated to be in need of stream restoration and aquifer recovery and are now closed to further appropriations of water. Applicants who are selected for WTAP grants are compensated by the State Conservation Commission in exchange for the permanent retirement of a water right. Priority is given to retiring water rights in areas which would have the greatest impact on the stream system. WTAP grants are approved on the basis of competitive bids and the amount of Historic Consumptive Water Use which has been established under the water right. A fixed rate price of $2,000 per acre-foot of Historic Consumptive Water Use is available for eligible water rights to be retired. To be eligible, water rights must have been actively used in the last 10 years. Dryland farming is permitted after a water right is retired. Limited irrigation can be temporarily allowed to establish a permanent cover on the land being transitioned from irrigation. Partial water right reductions can also be considered for retirement grants. The Fall sign-up period is Oct. 1 through Nov. 15. If program funds are still available, a Spring sign-up period will be held on Feb. 15 through March 31, 2009. For more information, contact Steve Frost, Water Conservation Program Manager, at 785-296-8964. Complete WTAP rules and regulations, applications, maps, and other details are posted on the SCC website at www.scc.ks.gov. Information and assistance can also be provided at the Big Bend Groundwater Management District No. 5 in Stafford, 620-234-5352, at the Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District in Garden City, 620-275-7147, or at the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources Field Office in Stafford 620-234-5311. 10/13/08 Date: 10/10/08 Advertisement
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