About Kansas Water Resources Consulting

Kansas Water Resources Consulting (KWRC) was founded in 2020 following the retirement of its founder, David Barfield, from a 35-year career with the Division of Water Resources (DWR), Kansas Department of Agriculture, including 12 years as its Chief Engineer.

KWRC leverages David’s training and experience in Kansas water resources and water law, solutions development, dispute resolution, and long-standing working relationships with state and local officials to assist water users and local governments in meeting their water resource needs. The practice draws on decades of experience in Kansas water administration and interstate water policy.

KWRC’s work focuses in two primary areas:

  1. Water right consulting for municipal, industrial, irrigation, and investment clients.
  2. Groundwater management and conservation, particularly assisting groundwater management districts with the development and implementation of Local Enhanced Management Areas (LEMAs).

Mr. Barfield is a licensed professional engineer in the State of Kansas. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering and an M.S. in Water Resources Engineering, both from the University of Kansas.

Example Projects

Examples of recent and ongoing work include:

  • Assisting Kansas municipalities in evaluating and securing additional water supply options.
  • Conducting due-diligence reviews of large industrial water rights for potential municipal acquisition.
  • Preparing change applications to reactivate long-unused water rights.
  • Providing expert testimony supporting municipal water transfer applications.
  • Assisting Groundwater Management District No. 1 (GMD1) in its review of Local Enhanced Management Areas (LEMAs) and the proposed renewal of the Wichita County LEMA.

Highlights from Mr. Barfield’s Career at the Kansas Division of Water Resources (1984–2020)

Much of Mr. Barfield’s consulting expertise is grounded in his 35-year career with the Kansas Division of Water Resources, where he ultimately served as Chief Engineer.

David Barfield served 35 years with the Kansas Division of Water Resources (DWR), including roles in technical services, five years directing the state’s dam safety program, fifteen years as an interstate engineer, and twelve years as Chief Engineer (2007–2020). As Chief Engineer he was responsible for administering the Kansas Water Appropriation Act and approximately thirty other laws governing the conservation, management, and use of water in Kansas, while representing the state on numerous interstate and intrastate water commissions.

During his tenure, Mr. Barfield worked with water users, legislators, and other stakeholders to develop several important tools addressing declining groundwater levels in the Ogallala Aquifer. These included the Local Enhanced Management Area (LEMA) process, Multi-Year Flex Accounts (MYFA), and Water Conservation Areas (WCA)—approaches that provide flexibility for water users while enabling locally driven reductions in groundwater use.

Mr. Barfield also played a central role in Kansas’ work under the Republican River Compact, participating in negotiations, litigation, and settlement discussions with Nebraska and Colorado. This work culminated in a settlement approved by the U.S. Supreme Court that established the accounting procedures and groundwater modeling framework still used today to determine compliance with the compact. He also worked extensively on the implementation of the Kansas–Colorado Arkansas River Compact, including technical and policy negotiations related to compact administration and reservoir operations.

In 2016, Mr. Barfield helped lead negotiations that resulted in the Kickapoo Tribe Water Rights Settlement, the first tribal water rights settlement reached in Kansas.

Throughout his career he also promoted the development and use of groundwater modeling and technical analysis in Kansas water administration, including work related to safe-yield determinations, the Quivira impairment investigations, and major water right decisions affecting municipalities, agriculture, and environmental resources such as the 2019 Hays-Russell R9 Ranch change application.

Contact KWRC

Use the contact form below or email david@kwrconsulting.com.