Hays sets R9 water policy against recruiting high-volume users
Hays, City of, Kansas · Meeting date: October 22, 2026 · Published: October 23, 2026
The Hays City Commission has adopted a policy framework for the proposed R9 Ranch supply that puts long-term reliability, drought resilience and efficient use ahead of water-intensive economic development. The resolution retains case-by-case discretion over future proposals but makes the city’s direction explicit as it completes the regulatory process for the Edwards County source.
Key points
- Commissioners adopted Resolution 2026-022 unanimously, 4-0.
- Hays will not actively recruit or pursue high-volume consumptive users whose demand could prematurely deplete city water resources.
- The R9 Ranch is expected to provide up to 6,756 acre-feet per year, compared with current city use of about 2,100 acre-feet per year.
- The policy requires continuing conservation and periodic review of supply, demand, drought risk and R9 sustainability.
Full report
Hays has put a formal policy boundary around the future use of its R9 Ranch water supply, declaring that it will not actively recruit high-volume consumptive water users that could prematurely deplete the resource.
The City Commission adopted Resolution 2026-022 by a 4-0 vote on 22 October. The measure directs city staff to embed principles of conservation, sustainable supply management and drought resilience in water-supply planning, utility operations, capital planning and economic-development reviews.
The resolution does not prohibit individual proposals from being considered. Instead, it says any future proposal may be evaluated on its individual facts and the long-term public interest. But it establishes a clear order of priorities for water-related economic-development decisions: protecting long-term supply sustainability, reliability and drought resilience first; then considering employment, wages, tax base, community benefit, water-use efficiency and consumptive demand.
Hays currently uses about 2,100 acre-feet of water a year. Its existing wellfields are projected to produce no more than about 840 acre-feet annually during a decadal drought and about 480 acre-feet during a multi-decadal drought, according to the resolution.
The city acquired about 6,800 acres known as the R9 Ranch as a long-term supply source. The resolution states that the ranch can provide up to 6,756 acre-feet annually and can support Hays’ needs for 50 years or more at current growth rates. Hays is completing the regulatory process required to use the ranch’s water rights.
The policy also affirms that access to R9 water will not displace the city’s conservation programme. Hays says it has invested in conservation, efficiency, public education and planning since the early 1990s, reducing per-capita use to about 78 gallons per capita per day. The resolution describes that figure as the lowest among Kansas metro areas.
The Commission committed to continued leak detection and reduction, efficient landscape and irrigation practices, public education and other water-management measures. It will periodically review water demand, available supply, conservation performance, drought risk and the sustainability of R9 Ranch water.
Speaking before the vote, resident Ken Kennedy supported the resolution and urged continued public messaging on water conservation. Commissioners said the measure formalised practices the city already follows and reinforced the need to conserve water even after the new source becomes available.
The resolution explicitly creates no entitlement to water service or a specified water quantity. It preserves the city’s authority to administer its utility, establish rates, impose drought restrictions and adopt future conservation measures.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: City Commission, Hays, City of