TOPEKA — Kansas has ended its 20-year-old court battle with Colorado over the Arkansas River. Chief Kansas water engineer David Barfield said that Colorado has signed an agreement designed to work out disputes over how much water flows down the river into Kansas. During the court battle, Kansas said that Colorado was taking too much water from the Arkansas River, which was often dry in western Kansas. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed with Kansas and ordered Colorado to pay for taking too much water. Kansas agreed to end the lawsuit after Colorado agreed to cut its use of the water from the river, Barfield said. Kansas reserves the right to bring back the lawsuit if Colorado pulls the plug on the agreement, he said.
