Despite 18 or more inches of rain in the Anderson County area over the past few months, Governor Laura Kelly has approved updated Drought Declarations for all 105 Kansas counties. The majority of the eastern half of the state, including Anderson, Franklin, Douglas, Osage, Miami and Linn Counties in the KOFO listening are listed under a drought watch. Much of the southern half of the state is listed under a drought warning and four counties, Rush, Ness, Pawnee, and Hodgeman are listed as drought emergency.
Director of the Kansas Water Office and Chair of the Governor’s Drought Response Team, Connie Owen says that those counties under a drought watch are experiencing conditions that indicate the probability of a water shortage is rising. It is important to monitor these conditions and be mindful of water usage in these counties with summer arriving, with temperatures rising, there is concern about precipitation decreasing. She strongly encourages all Kansans to continue to conserve water over the summer months. With a forecast of more hotter days to come in the next few weeks, Owen says all counties in the Drought Watch area need to be prepared, and those in the Warning and Emergency ares need to be extra cautious.
