Governor Laura Kelly has approved a Drought Declaration for the state, stating that Kansas has experienced abnormally dry conditions for the past several months and they are forecast to persist. The Declaration put 25 counties into a Drought Watch status, including Franklin, Anderson, Douglas, Osage, Miami and Linn Counties in the KOFO listening area. It also places 61 counties in Drought Warning status and 19 counties in Drought Emergency status. Those counties are located along the southern border of Kansas and into southwestern parts of the state.
Kansas has seen drought conditions continue to get worse since this past fall and even longer in some areas, causing concern with groundwater supplies, reservoirs, stream flow, crop production and elevated fire risk. Under the Declaration, counties in emergency stage are eligible for emergency use of water from certain state fishing lakes. These counties also become eligible for water in some Federal reservoirs.
