The Impacts of a Local Enhanced Management Area on Groundwater Use for Crop Production

This study evaluates the impact of groundwater restrictions under Kansas’s Local Enhanced Management Area program, focusing on the Sheridan-6 (SD6) region from 2013 to 2023. Using difference-in-differences regressions and well-level panel data, we find that SD6 irrigators reduced water use intensity by 16 percent and pumping costs by $5.48 per acre on average. No significant changes in irrigated acreage occurred. Differences from the control group decreased after 2018 when irrigators outside SD6 adopted less stringent water use policies. Results suggest that locally governed, farmer-led restrictions can reduce water use without diminishing productivity, though policy diffusion and adaptive responses complicate long-term measurement of conservation outcomes.