Water buyers in the five-county Lower Arkansas region covered by the draft bill wouldn’t be able to take all the water right away. A slide presented by the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservation District when promoting a possible 2026 legislature bill demanding city water buyers revegetate land they dry up. The backbone of our economy in the Lower Arkansas Valley is irrigated agriculture, and everything ultimately links back to that and its success. Those Lower Arkansas counties are Pueblo, Otero, Bent, Crowley and Prowers. Current state law merely calls for the parties in a buy and dry to make “reasonable” efforts to take care of the dried land, Goble said.

Source: Daily Sun March 16, 2026 14:48 UTC