[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 10905-10907]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          REMARKS FOR H.R. 540

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TODD TIAHRT

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 23, 2005

  Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in favor of H.R. 540. This bill 
would authorize the Equus Beds Aquifer recharge project in my district 
that will help meet the water needs of nearly 500,000 people in Kansas. 
This is an environmentally beneficial plan that will help ensure the 
city of Wichita, surrounding smaller communities, agriculture 
irrigators and local industry will have a clean and plentiful water 
supply for decades to come.
  I want to thank Chairman Pombo for his leadership in working with me 
on this important project. Seeking Federal authorization for the 
recharge of the Equus Beds Aquifer is something I have worked on for 
many years, and I am grateful to the chairman and his staff for 
including language contained in my original bill into H.R. 540.
  I also want to thank city of Wichita officials for their efforts in 
helping this project move forward. Their vision to ensure our 
community's water needs are met both now and in the future is extremely 
important. Leadership from Mayor Carlos Mayans along with City Council 
members Carl Brewer, Sue Schlapp, Jim Skelton, Paul Gray, Bob Martz and 
Sharon Fearey will continue to be needed for this project to be a 
success.
  Wichita Water and Sewer Director David Warren and Water Supply 
Projects Administrator Gerald Blain have been especially helpful to me 
and my staff over the years in navigating the details of the recharge 
project. I appreciate their dedication to public service.
  Nearly half a million people depend on the Equus Beds Aquifer and 
Cheney Reservoir to meet their water needs. Without water from the 
Equus Beds, Wichita and surrounding communities would face a serious 
water shortage.
  The Equus Beds Aquifer is the body of water beneath portions of 
Sedgwick, Harvey, McPherson and Reno counties within the boundaries of 
Groundwater Management District Number 2. The aquifer lies under 
900,000 acres, and annual withdrawals from the aquifer average 157,000 
acre feet. Approximately 55 percent of the water is used for 
irrigation; 39 percent is used for municipal needs in Wichita, 
Halstead, Newton, Hutchinson, McPherson and Valley Center; and six 
percent is used by local industry.
  The Equus Beds Aquifer recharge project involves taking floodwater 
from the Little Arkansas River and depositing that excess water

[[Page 10906]]

into the aquifer through water supply wells after going through a 
filtration system.
  Since the 1950's, water levels in the aquifer have dropped 40 feet 
because water rights and pumpage exceed the aquifer's natural recharge 
rate of six inches per year. Due to this over usage, saltwater from the 
southwest and oilfield brine from the northwest are threatening the 
aquifer. When the aquifer levels were higher, the elevated levels 
created a natural barrier that kept the contamination at bay. Now that 
the water levels have dropped, the natural barrier is no longer there. 
If the aquifer is not replenished, the maximum chloride levels will 
eventually exceed what is permitted for both agricultural and municipal 
usage.
  This aquifer recharge project is a win-win project for all the 
communities who depend on its water. The city of Wichita and 
surrounding municipalities benefit because water can be safely stored 
to meet short-term and long-term water supply needs.
  Agriculture irrigators also benefit because the risk of saltwater 
contamination is reduced. Without the natural barrier of an elevated 
water level in the aquifer, the water would eventually become 
contaminated to the point where it would be unsuitable for use even on 
crops. Irrigators should also see reduced costs associated with pumping 
since the water level will rise.
  The Little Arkansas River and its ecosystem also benefit. During 
times of drought, a natural discharge from the Equus Beds Aquifer into 
the river will occur creating a more stable base flow.
  Under the language contained in H.R. 540, the city of Wichita will be 
required to maintain and operate the recharge project, which ensures 
the Federal Government will not bear costs associated with its ongoing 
operation costs.
  Recharging the Equus Beds is the most cost-efficient means to provide 
water for the greater Wichita area. And it is the best option available 
to keep salt and oilfield brine out of this critical water supply 
without greatly restricting water usage.
  In 2004, Gerald Bain with the city of Wichita testified before the 
House Committee on Resources on the need for federal authorization of 
the recharge project. I am including his testimony with my remarks 
because I think it tells of the water needs faced by our community and 
the many benefits that will come with a recharge of the Equus Beds.
  I urge my colleagues to join me today in voting for H.R. 540. This is 
a good bill that will greatly benefit the people in south-central 
Kansas.
  The 2004 testimony by Gerald T. Blain, P.E.:

       The City of Wichita, Kansas has had water supply wells in 
     the Equus Beds Aquifer for over 60 years, and the aquifer has 
     been a major source of the City's drinking water. However, 
     because of excess pumping from the aquifer by municipal and 
     agricultural users, water levels in the aquifer had declined 
     up to 40 feet from their pre-development levels by 1992. 
     Because of this over development, the Equus Beds aquifer is 
     threatened by saltwater contamination from two sources. One 
     source is natural saltwater from the Arkansas River located 
     along the southwest border of the City's wellfield. The other 
     source is oilfield brine contamination left over from the 
     development of oil wells in the Burrton area in the 1930's, 
     located northwest of the wellfield.
       Groundwater modeling by the Bureau of Reclamation indicates 
     that the chloride levels, which are an indicator of salinity, 
     could exceed 300 mg/l in much of the wellfield by the year 
     2050. This would be above the 250 mg/l standard for drinking 
     water. In order to protect the water quality of the area, 
     steps must be taken to retard the movement of the salt-water 
     plumes.
       In 1993 the City of Wichita began implementation of a 
     unique Integrated Local Water Supply Plan that is intended to 
     meet the City's water supply needs through the year 2050. By 
     the year 2050 it is projected that the City's water supply 
     needs will almost double what they are now. The City's Plan 
     uses a variety of local water resources to meet water needs, 
     rather than requiring the City to transfer water from a 
     remote reservoir in Northeast Kansas. A key component of the 
     Plan includes an Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) project 
     to recharge the City's existing wellfield in the Equus Beds 
     Aquifer.
       The excess pumping from the aquifer, and the resulting 
     water level decline, has created a storage volume of almost 
     65 billion gallons that can be used to store water. The basic 
     concept of the City's ASR project is to capture water from 
     the Little Arkansas River and use it to recharge the aquifer. 
     Computer modeling, and past experience at other sites 
     throughout the country, has found that by recharging the 
     aquifer a hydraulic barrier can be created that would retard 
     the movement of the salt-water plumes. In addition, the 65 
     billion gallons that could be stored in the dewatered portion 
     of the aquifer could be used as a component of the City's 
     water supply.
       Unfortunately, all of the ``conventional'' water rights in 
     the Little Arkansas River have already been allocated. 
     However, excess flows in the river, which occur only after it 
     rains or snows, have not been allocated. Computer modeling 
     has predicted that there are enough days of excess flow that 
     enough water can be captured to allow the aquifer to be 
     recharged and become a valuable component of the City's water 
     supply. The modeling predicts that if the City builds an ASR 
     system with the capacity to capture up to 100 million gallons 
     per day, that it would still capture only a fraction of the 
     water flowing down the river, and it would not have a 
     negative impact on the river.
       The City intends to capture water from the river using two 
     techniques, either by using ``bank storage'' wells or by 
     pumping directly from the river. ``Bank Storage'' wells take 
     advantage of a unique geological condition that occurs along 
     the river. As the river rises above the base flow, water is 
     temporarily stored in the river's banks, but as the flow in 
     the river declines, the water in the banks discharges back 
     into the river. The City intends to drill wells adjacent to 
     the river that will capture ``bank storage'' water and induce 
     river water to replace the water pumped.
       The City recognized that some of the concepts included in 
     the proposed ASR project have not been done before, so to 
     prove the feasibility of those concepts the City completed a 
     5-year Demonstration Project. During the Demonstration 
     Project, which was done in partnership with the Bureau of 
     Reclamation and the US Geological Survey, the City 
     constructed a full-scale well adjacent to the Little Arkansas 
     River, a river intake and a water treatment plant, and a 
     variety of recharge facilities. To prove that the recharge 
     project was safe, over 4,000 water samples were collected and 
     analyzed for up to 400 different potential contaminates. 
     During the Demonstration Project over one billion gallons of 
     water were successfully recharged into the aquifer, and the 
     City was able to prove that excess flows in the Little 
     Arkansas River could be captured and recharged, and that it 
     can be done without harming the aquifer.
       The full-scale ASR project, which will be constructed in 
     phases, will capture and recharge up to 100 million gallons 
     per day, and will cost approximately $137 million. All of the 
     water that will be recharged into the aquifer must meet 
     drinking water standards, and will be monitored and regulated 
     by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the 
     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
       Normally, when surface water is developed for a water 
     resource, it requires the construction of a reservoir. A 
     reservoir that would provide the same storage as this ASR 
     project would probably consume around 25,000 to 30,000 acres 
     of prime farmland. It is projected that the ASR project will 
     use less than 400 acres of farmland.
       The City of Wichita and others believe that the ASR project 
     is a Win-Win project, because it appears that all of the 
     stakeholders receive benefits from the projects. As a result 
     of this project:
       The City develops a water supply source that will allow it 
     to meet its water supply needs through the year 2050.
       The water quality of the wellfield is protected from salt-
     water contamination.
       There is no requirement to curtail irrigation to restore 
     water levels and protect water quality.
       Irrigators will have lower pumping costs because water 
     levels will be higher.
       Low flows in the Little Arkansas River will improve, 
     because additional water will ``leak'' from the Equus Beds 
     back into the river.
       The project uses less land than any other surface water 
     development project.
       The City has already implemented some components of the 
     Integrated Local Water Supply Plan, including implementation 
     of a water rate structure designed to reduce water 
     consumption, and a greater emphasis on using water from 
     Cheney Reservoir, and a corresponding reduction in water 
     pumped from the Equus Beds. That alteration in water use has 
     already allowed water levels in the Equus Beds to rise over 
     20 feet in some areas.
       Phase I of the ASR Project, which is currently being 
     designed, will have the capacity to capture and recharge up 
     to 10 million gallons per day of water from the Little 
     Arkansas River by using Bank Storage wells. The location of 
     the first recharge facilities is intended to begin the 
     formation of a hydraulic barrier to the movement of salt-
     water plume from the Burrton area. It will take almost 10 
     years to construct the entire full-scale project.
       The City believes that this project represents a new 
     approach to developing water resources, while at the same 
     time protecting an existing water resource from 
     contamination. The City of Wichita therefore urges support 
     for federal assistance for this unique project.

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