ART HOVEY / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Wednesday, February 22, 2006 6:00 pm
Some 250 farmers in the Bostwick Irrigation District will be able to vote March 15 on a state offer that could pay them as much as $2.5 million to release irrigation water from the Harlan County Reservoir.
The state wants to put the water back in the Republican River and let it flow into Kansas to fulfill the terms of a river compact and to fend off a possible lawsuit as soon as next year.
News of a possible deal with the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources emerged Wednesday in a written notice to customers from the headquarters of the irrigation district in Red Cloud.
Votes on a proposed memorandum of agreement will be cast at the Red Cloud community center.
"The only question upon which a vote will be taken at the meeting will be acceptance or rejection of the proposed memorandum of agreement," the notice said.
The $2.5 million figure is based on a payment of about $100 per acre for the 22,935 irrigated acres within district boundaries.
"That's not an outrageous price," said Bostwick Manager Mike Delka. "It's fairly cheap."
Neither the Nebraska Attorney General's office nor the Department of Natural Resources offered prepared remarks on the proposed water agreement. Calls to their offices were not returned Wednesday afternoon.
Possible litigation with Kansas may be the most pressing issue for Nebraska as state and local water officials wrestle with on-going drought, declines in rivers, streams and ground-water levels, and various voluntary and mandatory ways of conserving water.
Dave Aiken, a water law specialist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said assessing the state's plan to buy Republican River water is not easy.
"One of the things that makes this tough is this is the first time we've ever done anything like this," Aiken said.
Will it be enough to keep a Kansas finger off a legal trigger?
"We don't even know if it buys us a year," Aiken said. "It gets us closer.
"Kansas has got to know that the number of things Nebraska can do to help Kansas out are probably fairly limited. Buying out surface water irrigators is probably the thing that will help Kansas the most."
Doug Kahrs, Franklin area farmer and Bostwick irrigator, said he hadn't seen the customer notice yet. "So I don't know what that entails and how that affects the rest of our situation out here."
Is $100 an acre in the ballpark?
"That would depend on what we can do with crop insurance," he replied, "how it all works together."
Crop insurance coverage becomes tricky territory when farmers decide to give up irrigation water that might save crops from drought.
Delka said it's also hard to decide if district members should see all the details of the proposed agreement ahead of the briefing that would be offered on election day.
If the complicated contents are misinterpreted, "how do you deal with it and when do you deal with it?"
Aiken was much more decisive when asked if the state's offer was an early example of a water-marketing future.
"Absolutely. There's no way around it. We'll see more of it in the Republican certainly in dry years or anticipation of dry years — like this year is apparently going to be."
Should all Nebraska taxpayers be able to see beforehand how their money will be spent?
"I guess that's up to the attorney general and his people," Delka said. "I'm a pawn, not a king maker."
Reach Art Hovey at 523-4949 or at ahovey@alltel.net
Water offer
What happened: The state and the Bostwick Irrigation District have negotiated a potential deal to release water from the Harlan County Reservoir.
What it means: Reservoir water could give the state some breathing room in meeting terms of a Republican River compact agreement with Kansas. Any state-local agreement is contingent on the state appropriating enough money to pay for a water purchase.
What’s next: Voting will conclude a 10 a.m. informational session March 15 at the community center in Red Cloud.