Topic: High Plains Aquifer
Interview of Mike Dealy, November 24, 2020
Interviewed by Rex Buchanan
In this 2020 oral history interview, Mike Dealy discussed his observations of Kansas water policy implementation during his career as the Manager of a Groundwater Management District (GMD). He reflected on the degree to which water policy permeates all aspects of society and politics. He recalled how the GMD Board's interest in water quality added a dimension to water management that didn't exist in all GMDs. He also noted that changes in the composition of the GMD Board of Directors had an impact on policy development and reflected on the importance of broad representation in the elected Board of Directors. Show More He concluded that broad representation ideally can result in cooperation among all water users in a GMD, irrigators, municipalities, and industries, which is key to a successful management plan. Show Less
Interview of Carl Holmes, September 3, 2020
Interviewed by Rex Buchanan
In this 2020 oral history interview, former State Representative Carl Holmes discusses his observations of state water policy formulation in the 1970's through 2012. Holmes began his involvement in water policy as a farmer and active member of his community in southwest Kansas. In many respects, his experiences reflect the water-energy nexus. Holmes observed cities and irrigators mining water in southwest Kansas. He recalled developing a comprehensive understanding of water issues by interviewing the managers of the state’s water resources. In this interview, Holmes described how he managed the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee by creating subcommittees and educating Show Moremembers on how to work bills and guide them through the process. He discussed his bipartisan work with Representative Ken Grotewiel and other committee Democrats in the 1990s, actions that resulted in the House Speaker removing him from the chairmanship of the committee. Holmes described how irrigation changed over time from flood to sprinkler technology and how sprinkler systems have become more efficient. However, Holmes observed that groundwater levels continued to decline leading to abandoned wells, the growing of crops that require less water, the return to dryland farming, and, for some, the call for diversion of water from distant sources, such as the Missouri River, to sustain farming and communities on the plains.
Another oral history interview of Holmes is included in the Energy & Environment collection on this site.
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Interview of Steve Morris, August 22, 2024
Interviewed by Rex Buchanan
Former President of the Kansas Senate, Steve Morris, focuses in this 2024 oral history interview on the issues that impacted his far-southwestern Kansas Senate district during his time in the Senate, 1993-2013. Important issues included those relating to extraction of natural resources, agriculture, and the closely related issue of water. He also reflects on how tax policy has had a wide-ranging impact on the area, touching everything from school financing to the sense of disconnect experienced by some western Kansans. Morris's background as a farmer representing the area of the Hugoton natural gas field made him a logical Show Morechoice for appointment to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Morris looks back on the controversy around expansion of the Holcomb power plant -- a decision that Kansas may have gotten right "by accident." The interview touches on the economic and social impacts of the natural gas and agriculture industries in Hugoton and the 39th Senate District at-large, including the decline of the Hugoton Field and the introduction of irrigation, fracking, and renewable energy generation. Morris speculates on the future of agriculture and the changing demographics in southwestern Kansas.
Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview