The Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas is encouraged that Gov. Sam Brownback and the Kansas Water Office are taking notice of the critical need for reliable water supplies in the state.

The Kickapoo have suffered through several droughts in recent years that depleted the Delaware River, which serves as the tribe’s singular source of water. Clean, potable water is a fundamental aspect of health and quality of life. A reliable source of water is essential for economic development through the expansion of tribal enterprises and expansion of its agricultural operation.

The Kickapoo Tribe can do little on its own to alleviate its water shortages. Unlike the state government or watershed districts, the Kickapoo lack the authority to condemn land for water projects. The Tribe’s Plum Creek Reservoir project has been delayed for more than two decades due to the lack of political will to support the Kickapoo Tribe’s Indian Treaty water rights or allow the tribe to benefit from the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954, which has benefitted many communities with water control and construction programs.