published 02/07/06 Omaha World Herald Registration required
By Don Adams
The writer, of Lincoln, is executive director of Nebraskans First, an organization of Nebraska farmers dedicated to protecting groundwater for agriculture.
Recent debate on the water problems in the Republican River basin has been heated in the Legislature, with blame for the current situation being hung on groundwater irrigators. This is so wrong, unfair and destructive, and here is why.
The Republican River compact was entered into by Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado in 1943. There was no groundwater irrigation then, no natural resources districts and no Harlan County Dam. Never in the 50-plus years of the compact's existence was it ever amended and updated to deal with the realities of the last half of the 20th century, when groundwater irrigation took off.
From 1943 to present, irrigators in the Republican River basin fully complied with all state water laws and NRD regulations. While so doing, irrigators invested heavily to upgrade their operations by drilling new wells and installing pumps and center-pivot sprinkler systems. Such reasonable and prudent business decisions involved huge sums of money being expended, all in reliance on the state's laws and official policy that groundwater was not included in the compact.
Republican River basin irrigators got blindsided. It is now painfully obvious that the deal Nebraska cut with Kansas and the methods and means being used to attempt to comply with the terms of the settlement were unsatisfactory and unrealistic. The Department of Natural Resources tells us that even if all wells in the basin were shut off, Nebraska still would be noncompliant. How can this be?
The answer has been provided by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in its Republican River basin water management study of February 1985. This study was undertaken to determine what was causing stream-flow depletion.
On page 43 of the study, the bureau states unequivocally that "soil and water conservation practices (residue management, terracing and farm ponds) contribute the largest depletions to the basin water supply." Terraces hold water on the land and thereby greatly reduce runoff into the river.
In 1985, the federal government forced farmers to put in terraces on their farms that were classified as highly erodible in order to qualify for the farm program. Because of this federal mandate, the number of areas terraced has greatly increased since 1985.
On page 54 of the study, the bureau says "consumption of groundwater by riparian vegetation is significant." Salt cedar, Russian olives, willows, cottonwoods, etc., use tremendous amounts of water and dry up springs, wetlands and riparian areas by lowering water tables.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln hydrologist Jim Goeke has said the Republican River is 80 to 90 percent runoff, explaining why stream flows are affected so much in dry weather. Obviously, the prolonged drought is a major cause of low river flows.
All this considered, the state has chosen to target groundwater irrigation while ignoring the major impacts on stream flow, which are terracing, vegetation and drought. This narrow, exclusionary regulatory approach threatens the local economies in the basin, which were built and now are sustained by irrigated agriculture.
When assessing the fairness of the settlement agreement, consider the following: Milford Reservoir near Junction City, Kan., is the very end of the Republican River system. Right now, Milford is full and releasing water. By comparison, Harlan County Reservoir on the Republican River near Alma, Neb., is only about 40 percent full.
Nebraska groundwater irrigators in the Lower Republican NRD are under strict pumping allocations of only 11 to 12 inches. Compare this with the 18 inches that irrigators are allowed to pump in northwest Kansas, where the Republican River system begins.
The disparity between what is going on in Kansas and here in Nebraska in terms of water supply and compact compliance requirements is stunning in its manifest unfairness. This requires leadership from our governor. The settlement agreement includes a dispute-resolution mechanism. This process must commence now, before it is too late.
The Republican River valley belongs to the farmers and ranchers there who continue the heritage and stewardship of their forefathers, who battled drought, floods and the winds of storm and winter to build a true American way of life based on hard work. This, in turn, produces food and dollars that sustain their local communities. Our government must not expect them to surrender all of this.