The Kansas Infrastructure Hub announced on August 14 that Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 3 has awarded $1 million to convert a 59,000-foot-long earthen canal into a 13,200-foot-long pipeline in Kearny County, Kansas.

“Using federal funds to complement our state and local investments in critical infrastructure is critical to protecting and expanding our state’s water supplies,” said Governor Laura Kelly. “These investments ensure our communities have the resources to build, operate and maintain critical infrastructure.”

The Groundwater Management District will receive $500,000 in funding from the federal bipartisan infrastructure bill from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grants Program, and $500,000 in grants from the Kansas Infrastructure Hub and the Build Kansas Fund.

The canal, known as the South Side Ditch, diverts water from the Arkansas River south of the town of Lakin. The project will improve water use efficiency, eliminate infiltration and evaporation losses, and reduce the spread of uranium contamination in the underlying High Plains/Ogallala Aquifer.

Support provided through the Kansas Infrastructure Hub provides communities with the financial resources necessary to utilize and maximize BIL financing opportunities.

“Rural communities in Kansas don’t always have the money to meet the requirements of large federal grants,” said Matthew Volz, PE, executive director of the Kansas Infrastructure Hub. “The availability of the Build Kansas Fund can make the difference between being able to apply for these lucrative federal funding opportunities or not.”

“Without this critical federal support from the Build Kansas Fund, there is no way we could have secured the $500,000 in federal funding for this project,” said Trevor Ahring, civil engineer for Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 3.

In addition to these grants, the Build Kansas Fund has been used in recent months to award federal grants in the cities of Ozawkie, Manhattan, Russell, Concordia, Dodge City, Topeka, Nortonville, Ellsworth and the Salina Airport Authority. The total investment by the Build Kansas Fund in all projects is more than $23 million, resulting in more than $31 million in federal grants.

Established in 2022, the Kansas Infrastructure Hub connects multiple state agencies and serves as a resource center for Kansas communities to identify best practices for maximizing BIL financing opportunities.

The Build Kansas Fund provides state grants to projects across Kansas that successfully apply for federal grants under the BIL. In 2023, the Legislature approved $200 million for the Build Kansas Fund to award state grants to Kansas companies and projects that meet local federal grant requirements.