A Simulation of Kansas Water Rights
Melanie Campbell
West Indianola Elementary School
Topeka, Kansas

Overview:
Fresh water is the lifeblood of farming. Throughout Kansas, however, the amount of precipitation varies greatly. With runoff in the east one hundred times greater than runoff in the west, most of the larger Kansas rivers, lakes and reservoirs occur in the eastern half of the state. With substantially less precipitation and surface water in the west, the main source of water in western Kansas is groundwater drawn from the Ogallala Aquifer. Whether groundwater or surface water, just who does the water in Kansas belong to, and who has the right to use it? Through hands-on activity, this simulation will help students develop an understanding of how water in Kansas is appropriated and regulated.
 
Geographic Themes:
Place Human/Environment Interaction
 
Kansas Social Studies Standard for Benchmarks, Grade Levels 5-K:
The student will understand the connections among people, places, and environments in the classroom, local school, community, Kansas, the United States, and different regions of the world.
 
National Geography Standards:

#4

 The geographically informed person knows and understands how physical and human processes together shape places.

#14

 The geographically informed person knows and understands how people depend on the physical environment, how people modify the physical environment, and that the physical environment can both accommodate and be endangered by human activities.

#15

 The geographically informed person knows and understands how variations within the physical environment produce spatial patterns that affect human adaptation, and the ways in which the physical environment provides opportunities for people.
Outcome:
To know and understand how and why water in Kansas is appropriated and regulated.
 
Performance Objectives:
The student will:
  1. Plan and construct a miniature farm where plants will be grown.
  2. Participate in a simulation regarding water resources.
  3. Reflect about the activities of this lesson.
Vocabulary (see Glossary):
Riparian rights
Vested rights
Senior rights
Junior rights		 Water Appropriation Act
Acre foot
Groundwater depletion
Recharge
Materials:
Seed trays (one per group): Although this lesson was based on 12-section (72-chamber) seed trays, it can easily be adapted for other trays.
Potting soil
Seeds
Containers such as buckets to hold water (one per group)
Measurement tools (measuring spoons, measuring cups)
Water
Student Water Permit Application (attached)
Student Water usage Report (attached)
Student Water Permit (attached)
Cardboard or Posterboard
Overheads of the following maps:

Assorted materials such as milk cartons, craft sticks, toothpicks, etc., for the construction of houses, outbuildings, fences, etc.
Class Water Use Graph (attached)
Student Water Rights Certificate (attached)

Procedure:
A. Opening the lesson.
Discuss the role of farming in Kansas. Provide leading questions for the students.
    B. Activity 1.

    1.

    		 Divide students into groups of 3 or 4.
    Put students who live in the same house they lived in when they were born in the same group. These groups will be the students who receive vested water rights in the class.

    2.

    a.

    		 All groups but one should plan a miniature farm using a seed tray and the following guidelines. Based on a 2-section (72-chamber) seed tray, eight sections will be planted, and the remaining four sections will be covered with cardboard or posterboard. This space will form a platform for students to construct a farmhouse and/or outbuildings for their farms.

    b.

    		 The remaining group will be allowed the same number of sections for planting. They will, however, plant grass "lawns" rather than crops and will construct houses, as this group will simulate a town.

    3.

    		 Plant seeds and construct farms, but do not water the seeds at this time.

    4.

    		 Developing the Lesson

    a.

    		 Discuss the requirements needed for plant growth (adequate nutrition, sunlight, and water).

    b.

    		 Ask where farmers in general get the water to produce crops.

    c.

    		 Use overheads of the following maps to facilitate a discussion of where farmers in Southwest Kansas get the water to produce their crops (groundwater versus precipitation supplies).

    i.

    		 Normal Annual Precipitation Map of Kansas

    ii.

    		 Acres Irrigated by County in Kansas

    iii.

    		 Principal Aquifers in Kansas

    5.

    		 Ask students to determine who water belongs to in Kansas and who can use it. (See background information.)

    6.

    		 Explain the Kansas Water Appropriation Act. (See background information.)

    C. Activity 2.
    Students will simulate the process by which water rights are applied for and obtained.

    1.

    		 Students complete and file water permit applications to appropriate water for agricultural use. (One application will be completed by each small group.) Those students in the town group will not complete a permit application because water that is used solely for domestic purposes (watering up to two acres of lawns and gardens) does not require a permit. This group will instead serve as the Kansas Department of Agriculture's Division of Water Resources. The following information will be helpful in the completion of water permit applications:

    a.

    		 Each chamber represents 25 acres.

    b.

    		 One teaspoon of water represents 1 acre foot of water.

    c.

    		 Each week will be representative of one year in the water rights process.

    2.

    		 Once completed, students submit applications to the classroom Division of Water Resources for processing.

    3.

    		 The Division of Water Resources will:

    a.

    		 Sort the applications into two stacks as they are received ... those who will have vested water rights and those who will not.

    b.

    Number each stack of permit applications according to the chronological order in which they were received.

    The vested water rights stack should be numbered first, and the number should be prefixed with the words "Vested Water Right." For example, Vested Water Right #1, Vested Water Right #2, etc.

    The numbering of the second stack of applications should begin with the next number following the last vested right number used. These applications will have numbers only (no word prefixes as the vested rights applications had).

    c.

    		 Check applications for completeness.

    d.

    		 Issue permits (see attachments).

    e.

    		 Allocate water as requested on permits. Measure requested amount of water in each group's bucket for the week (simulated year). The bucket will be representative of a well. Wells will need to be recharged (refilled) at the beginning of each week (simulated year) according to the group's requested water allocation on the water permit application.
    D. Activity 3

 

  1. The next two weeks will be used for the perfection or development of water rights. All water applied to plants must be measured and recorded on water usage reports. Students may not exceed the amount of water in their wells.
  2. The Division of Water Resources members will be responsible for monitoring water measurements and applications for accuracy. This will simulate both the meters used to measure the water usage from wells and the field inspections conducted by the Division of Water Resources to verify water use.
  3. Water usage reports will be turned in to the Division of Water Resources to simulate the responsibility of this office for keeping records of all water rights in the state.
  4. At the end of the second week (year), water usage amounts should be compared to the original amount requested on the permit application. If the full amount has not been perfected for use, then the permit amount should be changed, and the next week's allocation should be reduced accordingly. This will simulate the principle of "If you're not using it, you will lose it."
  5. Once the field inspections and water rights perfections are complete (by the end of the second week), the Division of Water Resources should issue a draft certificate of water appropriation to each group.
  6. When the water right holders receive this draft, it must be filed with the Register of Deeds (the teacher).

E. Activity 4

F. Assessment Activity


1.

 Note students' on-task involvement in group activities, discussions, and student reflection of the activities. (See attached scoring rubrics).

2.

 Student Reflection
Have students write answers to the following questions:

a.

 What were your responsibilities during this project?

b.

 On a scale of 1 - 5, rate your participation in this project. Support your rating with examples as to why this number represents an accurate reflection of your participation.

c.

 On a scale of 1 - 5, rate your group's participation in this project. Support your rating with examples as to why this number represents an accurate reflection of your group's participation.

d.

 On a scale of 1 - 5, rate your group's cooperation during this project. Support your rating with examples as to why this number represents an accurate reflection of your group's cooperation.

e.

 How did you feel about this activity?

f.

 What did you learn from this project?

g.

 How might this information affect you in the future?

3.

 Check student reflections for completion and thus understanding of the lesson.

G. Follow-Up Discussion.
Provide time for students to discuss questions such as these in their small groups prior to having a whole-class discussion.

  1. What is the purpose of the Kansas Water Appropriation Act?
  2. What agency is responsible for administering the Kansas Water Appropriation Act?
  3. Why is the Water Appropriation Act necessary?
  4. How does the Division of Water Resources appropriate water?
  5. How does the Division of water Resources regulate water usage?
  6. How does the seniority system of water rights help keep water allocations in Kansas fair?
  7. How does the Kansas Water Appropriation Act protect the people's right to use Kansas water?
  8. How does the Kansas Water Appropriation Act help insure the states supplies of ground and surface water for the future?
 
Extensions:

A.

 Explore different types of irrigation.

B.

 Ask a water resource expert from the U. S. Geological Survey office or your county conservation district to speak to the class. If the office has one, ask that a groundwater flow model be brought to demonstrate.

C.

 Make aquifer models in clear plastic cups to demonstrate the various layers of material within and around an aquifer.

D.

 Familiarize students with the concept behind and purposes of an IGUCA (Intensive Groundwater Use Control Areas).

E.

 Borrow an Enviroscape model from the Environmental Protection Agency in Kansas City, Kansas, to demonstrate how water pollution gets into groundwater.

Resources:

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Attachments:

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FHSU Geoscience | Kansas Geographic Alliance
National Geographic Society | Kansas Water Office
Fort Hays State University | Kansas State University

e-mail: pphillip@fhsu.edu

irc staff 11/28/97
(updated judi 04/19/00)
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