This city in Kansas really conserves its water, but that still might not be enough to survive

While communities across the semi-arid High Plains all face their share of droughts, Hays was — and is — the only city in Kansas with more than 15,000 residents but no sustainable source of water. It’s caught in the middle. Too far west for reliable rainfall and reservoirs. And too far east to tap into the massive — if disappearing — Ogallala aquifer. So when prolonged drought hits, the town’s bucket of backup plans isn’t exactly overflowing. That’s why Hays continues its decades-long quest for a sustainable water source today — it’s now in the middle of jumping through legal and regulatory hoops to build a 70-mile pipeline that would bring in water from three counties away. The 1992 crisis wasn’t the first or last time Hays has had to worry about running low on water. But it marked a turning point.
Source: KCUR News