Hearing set for October 12th, 2026, at 2:00pm at the Wichita County Fairgrounds.

 *August 28th, 2026* – Chief Engineer Earl Lewis indicated that the Wichita County LEMA will hold a public hearing on October 12th, 2026

Timeline Recap

October 2nd, 2025 – GMD1 Submitted the WC LEMA for renewal

January 13th, 2026 – Division of Water Resources held the LEMA Hearing in Leoti, KS

March 10th, 2026 – Order was received, DWR sent back the LEMA to the GMD1 with required changes in order to be approved by the chief engineer.

               -Preliminary areas of concern; carryover, overlapping of the WCA and the LEMA, non-use allocations receiving a zero allocation for the renewal period as a way of cleaning up the data, open appeals process.

March 26th, 2026 – GMD1 Staff and Board Members met with Chief Engineer Earl Lewis, and staff to discuss referenced concerns from DWR.

April 6th, 2026 – GMD1 Staff and Board Members met with Chief Engineer, and staff to propose an alternative option possibly limiting carryover for use in years of extreme drought emergency.

April 17th, 2026 – GMD1 Staff and Board Members met with Chief Engineer, and staff to discuss a counter proposal from DWR.  The following proposal reflects those discussions, and current revisions to the renewal LEMA.

May 14th, 2026 – Wichita County Outreach Meeting (Proposed LEMA Changes)

May 18th, 2026 – Special GMD1 Board Meeting

May 26th, 2026 – Special GMD1 Board Meeting

May 29th, 2026 – Revised WC LEMA Submitted

If you would like to provide comment or feedback regarding the order, directly to the Division of Water Resources KDA, please contact 785-296-3556.  Thank you for your time on this matter, and please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns you may have, as communication and transparency throughout this process is key.