Water Well Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/668983
Restrictions for Developing High Consumptive Use Wells Nebraska's 23 NRDs use groundwater regulations in differ- ent combinations and to different degrees depending on their respective geographic areas of concern. The majority of the state that has the Ogallala Aquifer under it is under some form of restriction for developing any additional new high consumptive use wells, which is a well that pumps more than 50 gpm. This decreases the ability to drill high capacity wells unless they are a replacement well or if water rights have been purchased and transferred to a new location. Well drilling moratoriums and moratoriums on expansion of acres for irrigation were put in place more than a decade ago in some districts. The NRDs have voluntarily done this to collect data on stream flow and groundwater levels with the goal to slowly release acres to be developed for irrigation drilling. Cody, who is serving as this year's president of the Ne- braska Well Drillers Association, understands the NRDs' goal to preserve and protect the Ogallala, but he is frustrated with their inaction. He cites three NRDs in eastern Nebraska which have had relatively the same water level records over the last 30 years despite adding irrigation wells during that timeframe. He wants the NRDs to improve their ability to make use of the data they have received and also release more acres to be developed. The North Platte NRD instituted a well drilling moratorium for the entire district in 2002, and in 2004 implemented a moratorium on the expansion of acres. It has flowmeters on every regulated well. Among other measures, the district is considering regulating the entire district. It manages 3.5 mil- lion acres, where 350,000 are irrigated with 80,000 acres falling outside of impact to rivers. For continuity's sake and to protect the delicate aquifer systems, the district might look to manage them too. The first increment of the North Platte NRD's Integrated Management Plan with the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources is to return 8000 acre-feet to the North Platte River annually by 2019. The next step is to be fully appropriate, which hasn't been defined yet but is assumed to be much higher than 8000 acre-feet. "Because of the soil and crop types we have and the alloca- tion we have to maintain and precipitation we generally re- ceive, I don't see a situation certainly in my lifetime where we're going to allow further groundwater development in this district," Berge says. "Now there are other districts around the state that still allow well drilling or allow acre expansion. We're just not one of them. We don't have that luxury." A Look Ahead Irrigation and groundwater, the issue focus of this month's Water Well Journal, will likely always be a hot button issue in Nebraska. The past five years irrigation was strong in the state, Cody says, due to high grain prices and high land prices and dry weather. In 2012, Cody had 23 employees where 90% of drilling was for irrigation. Today, he has 10 full-time employees and there will be between 40% and 50% irrigation drilling, with the rest being domestic or stock wells for livestock and pastures. In north-central Nebraska, Beck serves a mature irrigation market. Plugged well screens and old tired pumps needing re- pair or service work is common. Much of the irrigation equip- ment, Beck says, has been in use for 35 to 40 years now. "We're kind of hamstrung with being able to add to what we're already doing if we can't do any additional develop- ment," says Beck, who served as the 2013 Nebraska Well Drillers Association president. "It's kind of put our economy in a holding pattern." Since the October 2013 Governor's Conference on Water, Kansas has been guided by Governor Sam Brownback's "Vision for the Future of Water in Kansas." In 2014, Kansas undertook a campaign of "Stakeholder Outreach" to boost awareness and develop a partnership attitude. From reports, the campaign involved more than 400 meet- ings, seminars, and workshops for communities, civic groups, professional organizations, and interested citizens—a signifi- cant effort to raise awareness of the importance of water to the state as well as the challenges facing its availability and use. Cody discusses with the general public in northeast Ne- braska how the Ogallala Aquifer works. Due to increased media coverage over the last decade, Cody believes the public is prone to overreact if they read the Platte River or a stream or creek is running low. "Basically, as long as we get our average rainfall through- out the state, typically our streams are always running, which means our groundwater aquifer is overflowing," he says. Cody, who will turn 42 on May 31, is nervous about the next five years. To survive, the company has diversified with Cody's brother, Casey, offering his electrician services outside of wiring a water well, such as service/repair of the numerous electrical irrigation systems in the area. They've begun selling water distillers made in Lincoln, Nebraska, even though most folks don't need one due to the high quality of water. It might keep them somewhat busy though. "I've been doing this long enough and there always seems like there is something to do and worrying about it definitely doesn't help the cause," Cody says, "but that's human nature, I guess." WWJ OGALLALA from page 23 Mike Price is the senior editor of Water Well Journal. In addition to his WWJ responsibilities, Price produces NGWA's newsletter and contributes to the Association's quarterly scientific publication. He can be reached at mprice@ngwa.org. 24 May 2016 WWJ waterwelljournal.com Part three of this aquifer series will spotlight the Turlock Basin, one of the largest aquifers in the western United States, in the June issue of Water Well Journal. On World Water Day, March 22, NGWA launched a campaign on social media to promote awareness of well efficiency among the agricultural irrigation community and to reach out to water well system professionals. Find out more at the following link and feel free to share it on your social media outlets at NGWA.org/HelpingAgriculture.