Originally Posted By: dlowrance
Originally Posted By: Snipe
Originally Posted By: dlowrance
Fills and overflows in a normal year FROM another WOTUS is I think the key.

So my ponds both fill from rainwater that flows off of fields. I get zero water from any other source. Based on the current description I should be retaining ownership and control of my ponds....at least right now.

But if your pond is downstream of a corps of engineers lake, for example, and when it comes a gully washer some water could move FROM that lake to your pond, you could be in trouble based on these new regs.

Same way if a creek that's full some/most of the time can flood out of it's banks and end up in your pond.

Etc.

This goes both ways, and more importantly, if your Pond/BOW stops flow from entering a tributary that feeds into a Navigable stream, it will fall under their jurisdiction and "could" be subject to draining.
We are fighting this tooth and nail in Kansas, especially the western half where litigation has already taken place between adjoining states and their Governments.


I must've missed this part....if that's the case then practically 100% of our ponds are going to become WOTUS...the only ones that won't are dug ponds that essentially HAVE no runoff. Because small creeks run to big creeks and big creeks run to rivers and rivers run to the ocean. That's sort of how that works.

It's VERY different in many areas..
We have a few river systems out here that have not had natural flow for nearly 30 years. But if you dam up a runoff area that drains into that (still classified as a stream) you're in violation. The only way we can put a pond in in Western KS is "IF" it's less than 1 surface acre or less than 15 ac ft, not to exceed 1 surface acre. If you have an area where water flows downhill but does not flow into a tributary that feeds a Navigable stream (such as mine) you're good. Each water district in every state is different but the feds are trying to simplify the system and provide a blanket coverage answer.
This ruling is nothing new, I've been fighting the direction this has been headed for years, during permitting on renovation of an existing impoundment. I have 2 in the works right now and the only reason we've been able to continue is both earthen dam structures fall under low hazard/low impact class if they would potentially fail. Every district is going to be different in how it's handled but 90% of the ponds in western KS will NOT fall under WOTUS because they just flow into a lower spot and not a tributary.

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