Coming as it did on the heels of the announcement that Nebraska ranks first in the number of irrigated acres, work now under way locally to limit future irrigation is welcome.
Posted: Monday, June 29, 2009 12:00 am
Coming as it did on the heels of the announcement that Nebraska ranks first in the number of irrigated acres, work now under way locally to limit future irrigation is welcome.
The Lower Platte South Natural Resource District has proposed new rules that would limit additional irrigated acres along the Platte River and Salt Creek.
The goal is to keep the lower Platte River basin from becoming fully appropriated. Similar action is needed by other NRDs in the basin.
The challenge facing Nebraska to keep water usage in the state at a sustainable level is considerable.
One reason that Nebraska overtook California for the No. 1 spot is that the amount of land under irrigation in California has been dropping because of drought and "the ever-growing demands for water by California's metro areas," according to a report in Cornhusker Economics.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln ag economist Bruce Johnson wrote that while Nebraska has been adding acres, "other major irrigation areas of the country have witnessed reduced irrigated acreage." Texas, for example, was forced to decrease the amount of land because irrigators depleted the aquifer.
The boom days for irrigation in Nebraska are ended. Johnson wrote that Nebraska "has essentially reached its maximum development limits."
Johnson concluded, "From now on, Nebraskans, from the individual water user up through our policy arena, will need to wisely manage our water resources for a sustainable future."
In the past few years, the state has made tremendous progress toward putting in place policies designed to ensure that water usage in Nebraska should be restricted to sustainable levels.
The new rules by the Lower Platte South NRD are an example of state and local officials working together toward that goal. The new rules were required by LB483, a bill sponsored by Sen. Chris Langemeier of Schuyler.
The need for the bill became dramatically clear shortly before passage when the department of Natural Resources reversed a preliminary ruling that would have banned further irrigation in the lower Platte River basin.
Despite the improvement in overall water supply, there is still concern whether current limitations are sufficient to protect stream flows in the Platte and other rivers in the state. That's why the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is working on an application to protect minimum flows for fish, wildlife and recreation in the Niobrara River, a popular destination for canoeists.
The job of properly managing the state's water supply will be ever evolving and never-ending. It's encouraging that progress toward a sustainable future is still under way.