Tomorrow's Water - Connecting People, Playas and the Ogallala Aquifer

Tomorrow’s Water is an adaptive, collaborative process in which local communities partner with conservation organizations to create an actionable plan to stabilize their water supply — with a focus on incorporating playa conservation as part of broader water quantity and quality efforts. Each community is different and, as such, each water management effort will be different, too.

Although playas are a primary source of recharge, irrigation greatly exceeds recharge from playas. Tomorrow’s Water is designed to help communities include playas in their water management plan or efforts, with the focus on restoring playas and managing runoff within playa watersheds, alongside reducing aquifer overuse.

KACD is excited to be working with Playa Lakes Joint Venture through a grant with National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Kansas Water Office to promote playa restoration in western Kansas. We have to KACD staff members dedicated to the Tomorrow's Water project: 

Bernadette Mills 
Playa & Water Conservation Outreach Specialist
Northwest Kansas
785-772-5763
Email Bernadette

Kassidy Koehn
Playa & Water Conservation Outreach Specialist
Southwest Kansas
785-728-7428
Email Kassidy
 

Learn More

To determine whether playas can provide a measurable contribution to your community’s water, start by using the Playa Recharge Estimator to view playas within two to ten miles of your town and their potential recharge. If there are a number of playas, contact the Tomorrow’s Water team for help scoping the situation, developing a plan, and implementing a solution.

The Tomorrow’s Water team will work with you and your community to develop a more detailed analysis of how playas can support your community and future generations.  Learn more about Tomorrow’s Water at TomorrowsWater.org.