1.        How watersheds benefit farmers during the drought. a.        Cattlemen use the water either by cattle drinking from the edges of the reservoir or by drawing water down below the structure for cattle to drink from a tank or the stream. b.      Some row crop farmers do limited irrigation.                 2.        Watersheds benefit plant life and animal life through the availability of water during the drought.  a.   By opening the drawdown valve a small amount,  landowners can keep the banks on either side of the stream below the watershed dam green.  This provides a green oasis for animals, both wild and tame, as well as frogs, toads, minnows, insects, etc.
3.        The Delaware Watershed, which covers 451,810 acres from Goff and Wetmore to the town of Perry, has 502 planned dams in the written plan.  Of these, 136 have been constructed and are providing grade control and flood abatement.  The completed dams include the Banner Creek Reservoir, the only multi-purpose dam in the plan.  Two of the dams were existing private structures that were “adopted” into the watershed. All of these structures have reservoir bodies of water that can give assistance during a drought.  Because the dams are on private property, the landowner decides if he is going to open the valve to allow water to go downstream when there is no flow coming in from upstream. 
4.       Besides Herb Graves, Executive Director of the State Association of Kansas Watersheds, contact could be made with two watershed board members who are allowing water to flow downstream from their dams:  Dan Barrow and Frank Gilliland.