Governor Laura Kelly appointed Allan Soetaert, Gardner, to the Kansas Water Authority.

The water authority advises the governor, the Legislature and the director of the Kansas Water Office (KWO) on water policy issues — including the approval of the Kansas Water Plan and revisions, federal contracts, administration regulations and legislation proposed by the KWO.

“The Kansas Water Authority is comprised of such an important and knowledgeable group of individuals,” Kelly said. “Mr. Soetaert has shown a commitment to the public and Kansas water over the years, and he is an ideal candidate to join this board.”

Soetaert is the manager of Rural Water District No. 7, in Johnson County. He has been a public servant for 32 years, involved with meeting the daily, and varied, demands of a public water supply system, as well as more regional water issues and public water supply systems and initiatives. These include serving on the Maris des Cygnes Regional Advisory Committee, chairing the 5-member Supervisory Committee that provided guidance and oversight to a rural water district in central Kansas on the verge of foreclosure by the federal government, and chairing the Hillsdale Area Water Cooperative.

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