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Water rights in Kansas Whether a new off-grid home can legally get its own water in Kansas: the state well and water-rights rules, then the 43 counties where a specific groundwater basin adds a catch — each cited to the state water agency.
Kansas water rules
Household well Exempt — no permit or water right Domestic use is statutorily exempt from the Kansas Water Appropriation Act, so a homeowner needs no state water right to drill a household well even inside a closed groundwater management district; only local/KDHE well-construction permitting applies.
Limit: Domestic use (household + livestock + ≤2 acres lawn/garden) requires no state appropriation permit
Kansas Dept of Agriculture, DWR — Water Law Basics ↗ Greywater reuse Rainwater harvesting unrestricted Legal for domestic use; permit for non-domestic.
NCSL ↗ Water rights 43 constrained counties in Kansas
Over-appropriated Barton County Walnut Creek IGUCA 44 Over-appropriated Cheyenne County Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 4 (GMD4) 50 Over-appropriated Decatur County Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 4 (GMD4) 45 Over-appropriated Ellis County Lower Smoky Hill IGUCA 49 Over-appropriated Finney County Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 3 (GMD3) 38 Over-appropriated Ford County Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 3 (GMD3) 48 Over-appropriated Gove County Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 4 (GMD4) 41 Over-appropriated Graham County Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 4 (GMD4) 50 Over-appropriated Grant County Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 3 (GMD3) 39 Over-appropriated Gray County Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 3 (GMD3) 36 Over-appropriated Greeley County Western Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 1 (GMD1) 38 Over-appropriated Hamilton County Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 3 (GMD3) 31 Over-appropriated Harvey County Equus Beds Groundwater Management District No. 2 41 Over-appropriated Haskell County Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 3 (GMD3) 35 Over-appropriated Kearny County Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 3 (GMD3) 33 Over-appropriated Lane County Western Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 1 (GMD1) 37 Over-appropriated Logan County Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 4 (GMD4) 41 Over-appropriated McPherson County McPherson IGUCA 48 Over-appropriated Meade County Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 3 (GMD3) 37 Over-appropriated Morton County Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 3 (GMD3) 35 Over-appropriated Ness County Walnut Creek IGUCA 40 Over-appropriated Rawlins County Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 4 (GMD4) 40 Over-appropriated Reno County Equus Beds Groundwater Management District No. 2 47 Over-appropriated Rush County Walnut Creek IGUCA 44 Over-appropriated Russell County Lower Smoky Hill IGUCA 39 Over-appropriated Scott County Western Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 1 (GMD1) 40 Over-appropriated Sedgwick County Equus Beds Groundwater Management District No. 2 44 Over-appropriated Seward County Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 3 (GMD3) 35 Over-appropriated Sheridan County Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 4 (GMD4) 41 Over-appropriated Sherman County Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 4 (GMD4) 40 Over-appropriated Stanton County Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 3 (GMD3) 36 Over-appropriated Stevens County Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 3 (GMD3) 34 Over-appropriated Thomas County Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 4 (GMD4) 42 Over-appropriated Trego County Lower Smoky Hill IGUCA 44 Over-appropriated Wallace County Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 4 (GMD4) 42 Over-appropriated Wichita County Western Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 1 (GMD1) 39 Actively managed Edwards County Big Bend Groundwater Management District No. 5 46 Actively managed Hodgeman County Pawnee Valley IGUCA 40 Actively managed Kiowa County Big Bend Groundwater Management District No. 5 36 Actively managed Pawnee County Pawnee Valley IGUCA 43 Actively managed Pratt County Big Bend Groundwater Management District No. 5 45 Actively managed Rice County Big Bend Groundwater Management District No. 5 42 Actively managed Stafford County Big Bend Groundwater Management District No. 5 42 Keep exploring Kansas See the full Kansas county ranking , compare states on the water-rights hub , or read how we score water access . We dim physical water — never erased — where a county sits in one of these basins, household-first.
General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.
