According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Kansas, individuals who owned a water well showed far more awareness around state water supplies and policy issues than their counterparts who did not own a well.
Well owners were also found to prioritise issues related to the depletion of the High Plains Aquifer — the underground reservoir of freshwater beneath much of the western half of the state. They are also acutely more aware of the Kansas Aqueduct proposal, the $18 billion project that would divert water from the Missouri River to western Kansas.
This could have a significant impact on groundwater management and environmental policies. Well owners are also more aware of water supplies and water-related policies and agencies, including the Groundwater Management Districts, the Kansas Water Office, and the Governor’s Long-Term Vision for the Future of Water Supply in Kansas.
“The people who use private wells for water are more likely to hear about water-related policy issues and pay attention to them,” said Brock Ternes, a University of Kansas doctoral student in sociology and author of the study which he will present at the 111th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA).
Rural Kansas has been very hard-hit by the scarcity of water due to recent droughts, and as a result the High Plains Aquifer has been over-pumped for its valuable irrigation water. According to Ternes, if the pumping continues at this rate, the aquifer will no longer be in a position to support irrigation wells in regions of southwestern Kansas within 25 years.
“Sociological studies are imperative for understanding the mind-sets of well owners, who are a distinct group of Kansans who will continue to influence the availability of groundwater. Most well owners believe securing water is one of the top political challenges facing Kansas, and water policies are more likely to influence their vote in local and state elections than Kansans who don’t own wells,“ said Terns, who coined the term “groundwater citizenship,” during his study.
My data suggest that well owners have different political priorities than non-well owners and conserve water with the hopes of extending their supply, which makes them a unique type of citizen.” Ternes added.
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