About the Watershed

The Cheney Lake Watershed (North Fork Ninnescah River) covers 633,000 acres within five counties in south central Kansas including portions of Reno, Stafford, Pratt, Kingman, and Kiowa counties. Over 99% of the watershed is used for agricultural purposes. 

Cheney Reservoir is an important source of drinking water and recreation for the City of Wichita and surrounding communities. Over 70% of Wichita's water is taken from the reservoir.

Cheney Lake Watershed, Inc. is an organization formed to improve water quality by working with watershed farmers. The Citizens Management Committee has set goals to reduce nutrients and sediment that reach the lake from agricultural sources. The City of Wichita has committed funding to help farmers reach our watershed goals.

This project is partially funded by EPA 319 funds through the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) program at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.