Print edition: 
TOPEKA — Prolonged drought conditions are taking a toll on Kansas reservoirs, where declining levels are raising concerns about sustained water supply and the possibility of algae blooms, a water office official said Tuesday.
Earl Lewis, assistant director of the Kansas Water Office, told the Joint Committee on Energy and Environment that the shrinking reservoirs could have an impact on communities into 2012 and that the drought's intensity is spreading north and east.
"It's really one of the worst on record. In fact, it is the worst on record for southwest Kansas," Lewis said.
Lewis said one lake of particular concern is John Redmond Reservoir, which is a source of water for the Wolf Creek nuclear plant in eastern Kansas. The reservoir is about 54 percent of its conservation pool level, and that could decline to 34 percent by mid-November.
The nuclear power plant draws water from the reservoir to fill a lake used for cooling the power plant during operations. Lewis said the water level at John Redmond was down about three feet because of the normal recharging by Wolf Creek and the drought.
The lake usually recharges each spring, but Lewis said that if the drought continues through early 2012, this could cause problems going into next summer and fall.
Other reservoirs in southern Kansas also are low due to the drought, including Cheney, El Dorado, Elk City, Fall River and Toronto.
Lewis said low water levels created conditions that allowed large and intense blue-green algae blooms at 55 state waterways in 2011. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment posted warnings and advisories restricting access to the lakes because of the potential health risk to humans and their pets.
"I point this out as we are first and foremost concerned with the quantity of water available during the drought," Lewis said. "But these algae blooms are literally tied to our sediment issue and are the first serious warning sign of our growing problem."
