By State › Kansas

Kansas: Laws & Legal Considerations

Download all of Kansas as PDF Print

Rainwater harvesting: unrestricted for domestic use up to a specific threshold

The Kansas Water Appropriation Act specifically protects the right to harvest rainwater for domestic purposes, with a defined scope for what counts as domestic use.

RuleKansas
Source water Rooftop or other catchment
Permit required for domestic use No, if within the domestic-use definition
Domestic-use definition Household use, watering livestock on pasture, or watering up to 2 acres of lawn and garden
Beyond that threshold A Department of Agriculture permit may be required, and any storage large enough to affect downstream flow is subordinate to existing water rights

Where to find it: the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources (agriculture.ks.gov) publishes water law basics.

Water rights: prior appropriation, the same family as Utah’s

Kansas is a prior-appropriation state: the state owns all water, and use rights are granted on a “first in time, first in right” basis, the same doctrine already covered for Utah, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona’s surface water.

ConceptHow it works in Kansas
Basic rule Earliest-dated water right holders have first claim during a shortage
Groundwater Governed under the same appropriation framework as surface water, notably relevant given the Ogallala Aquifer's decline in western Kansas
Administration Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources

Where to find it: the Division of Water Resources administers appropriation permits.

Permitless carry since 2015, with a distinctive 18-20 provisional tier

Kansas has recognized permitless carry for adults 21 and older since July 1, 2015.

RequirementDetail
Standard (21+) Permitless carry, concealed, for anyone 21+ legally eligible to possess a firearm
18-20 year olds Not covered by the permitless standard; may obtain a provisional License to Carry Concealed Handgun with approved training instead
Optional license (21+) Remains available for reciprocity in states that don't recognize Kansas's permitless standard

A two-tier system, not a single age line

Most permitless-carry states covered on this site draw one age line and stop. Kansas instead gives 18-20-year-olds a real, if more involved, path to concealed carry through the provisional license rather than simply excluding them until 21, a structural difference from a state that would just require the standard optional permit at a younger age.

Sources