Kelly seeks Office of Natural Resources, proposes $30 million boost to water funding to protect Ogallala aquifer

Governor Laura Kelly urged lawmakers to streamline water management and increase state investment to protect groundwater supplies, particularly the Ogallala aquifer in western Kansas.

"Forget making it 75 years down the road. Some parts of western Kansas don't have groundwater enough to last another 25 years," Kelly said. She proposed creating an Office of Natural Resources to replace the current, fragmented structure — which she said involves 14 separate agencies — and said more coordination is required to stabilize supplies and expand reservoir capacity.

Kelly noted the Kansas Water Authority engaged more than 1,500 stakeholders statewide and said the state should adopt a "multi-generational promise" to protect water for the next two generations. On funding, she said the Legislature provided $35 million per year for five years last year and that her budget would propose an additional $30 million, bringing total annual investment to $90 million.

The governor described the proposal as a long-term strategic effort that will vary by region. She did not provide statutory language or a timeline for creating the proposed office; those implementation details were not specified in the address.