North Central Kansas Communities Receive Grant Funding for Water Infrastructure

Governor Laura Kelly and the Kansas Water Office on Tuesday, April 16th announced an $18 million investment into 34 municipalities and special districts related to water across Kansas.  Nineteen Technical Assistance Grants and fifteen Water Project Grants are being awarded.

“This investment is vital to the water resources and livelihoods of Kansans in these rural communities,” Governor Laura Kelly said.  “By working together, we are making progress on our water crisis while ensuring communities have access to the resources they need to address their pressing water issues.”

The following are North Central Kansas recipients of this year’s funding:

Technical Assistance Grant Recipients:
Mankato: $461,548
Republic: $202,400
Tescott: $407,500

Water Project Grant Recipients:
Burr Oak: $1,028,749
Wakefield: $2,521,440

Water Project Loan Assistance Grant Recipients:
Miltonvale: $352,500

The grants were made possible through the 2023 Senate Substitute for House Bill 2302, signed by Governor Kelly in April 2023.

That bipartisan legislation invested a record $35 million into the State Water Plan.  It added $18 million on top of the annual $8 million for the State Water Plan and $17 million for the two grant funds.  This year, the Kansas Legislature added $1 million to the program to meet the needs of additional requests that were made.

The first round of funding, which was released on November 1, 2023, received over 122 Technical Assistance applications and 187 Water Project applications.  Applicants with emergent water issues, socioeconomic and community factors, conservation plans, and populations of fewer than 2,000 residents were prioritized in the review process.

The Fiscal Year 2025 solicitation is anticipated to open in Summer 2024.