The
Governance Committee of the Platte River Cooperative Agreement
Water
Issues
Under
the Cooperative Agreement, a proposed basin-wide Program to benefit
endangered species is being developed and refined. If adopted as
proposed, the Program will be implemented in phases and will include
measures to enhance river flows (see "Program
Components: How the Agreement and Program Work" for details).
Q:
What are the water goals of the proposed Program?
A:
During the first increment of the proposed Program (10 to 13 years),
the states will address the impacts of all surface and ground water
projects existing as of July 1, 1997, by providing 130,000 to 150,000
acre-feet of water per year on average in times when flows are less
than the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) target flows.
The long-term goal is “sufficient water” for four target
threatened or endangered species. That amount will be determined
as the Program progresses through independent “peer review”
of past and future studies and in response to new information developed
by implementing the Program and monitoring its results (“adaptive
management”).
Each
state will mitigate any future depletions that reduce flows compared
with FWS’s target flows. Mitigation is intended to be within
the state where future depletions occur according to plans in the
proposed Program. The state must avoid increasing mitigation burdens
on other states and mitigate or compensate for any adverse effects
on the Program’s three water re-regulation projects.
Q:
Where would the water come from?
A:
The first 70,000 acre-feet of the 130,000 to 150,000 acre-feet goal
will come from three water re-regulation projects: an environmental
account in Nebraska’s Lake McConaughy (the “Nebraska
Plan”), the Tamarack Project in Colorado and the Pathfinder
Modification Project in Wyoming. These water projects will work
together to store water and return it to the river when flows are
less than targets. They put no additional water in the river --
they just change the timing. The remaining water will be developed
through water supply and water conservation projects involving willing
participants.
Q:
How would the re-regulation projects be operated for the Program?
A:
Program water from all sources will be closely coordinated and will
take advantage of the location of the Central Nebraska Public Power
and Irrigation District’s Lake McConaughy. Under the Nebraska
Plan, Central will contribute water to an environmental account
and additional water will be provided from the Tamarack and Pathfinder
Modification projects and other water projects. Central will then
release environmental account water as requested by the Environmental
Account (EA) manager appointed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
unless an event such as flooding or equipment failure prevents making
releases. This approach gives the EA manager flexibility to make
efficient use of the environmental account water by taking into
account actual conditions in setting priorities for the year and
in calling for day-to-day releases.
Q:
What kinds of additional water supply and water conservation projects
could become part of the Program and how would they be selected?
A:
As part of the Cooperative Agreement, the states have contracted
for a broad water conservation/water supply study, which will be
used -- along with input from the public -- to develop a prioritized
list of potential water conservation and water supply projects.
Third-party impacts (negative and positive) are also being examined.
The study is looking into additional water re-regulation projects,
conservation practices, the voluntary retirement of irrigated lands
and the development of additional storage sites for enhanced river
management.
Q:
Would anyone be forced to conserve water for the Program?
A:
No. The study will be used to determine which water users are interested
in voluntarily participating in specific incentive-based projects.
Q:
Would existing water rights be affected?
A:
Water rights would not be condemned because of the Program. In addition,
modeling of the impact of the environmental account in Lake McConaughy
shows irrigation shortages can be avoided even in the case of a
prolonged drought. Although retirement or transfer of water rights
for existing irrigated lands could be an option to help meet the
water goals, water rights would be retired or transferred only if
the owner agreed and was compensated and other water rights are
not adversely impacted.
Q:
Would Nebraskans be able to sell water rights to the Program?
A:
Currently, water rights can be legally transferred or sold in Nebraska
only if the new owner puts the water to the same kind of use as
did the transferor. A water right originally granted for irrigation
can be transferred to other irrigated land, but not converted to
municipal or instream uses. Nebraska is revisiting that policy and
changes in Nebraska law have been proposed in the state legislature.
Q:
Would restrictions be put on using groundwater?
A:
Existing groundwater users, like existing surface water users, are
“grandfathered” -- that is, their historic depletions
will be allowed to continue under a future Program. But under the
proposed Program, the impacts on target flows of groundwater uses
begun after July 1, 1997, must be determined and their impacts mitigated
by the state where they occur. The Cooperative Agreement’s
water committee is helping the states determine which new groundwater
uses have impacts, but it is up to the states to decide how to address
any impacts. The Program itself will put no restrictions on new
groundwater use.
Q:
Would releases from the Environmental Account in Lake McConaughy
to meet “target flows” aggravate out-of-bank flooding
downstream?
A:
No. Generally, target flows are much less than the capacity of the
river. Other than “pulse flows,” the highest recommended
target flow is 2,400 cubic feet per second (cfs), in contrast with
Platte River channel capacities of 8,200 cfs and above.
Q:
What are “pulse flows”?
A:
“Pulse flows” are natural high flow events now occurring
that the FWS would like to preserve. They include very high flow
events (above 12,000 cfs and, in come cases, above 16,000 cfs) that
last a few days and do cause out-of-bank flooding, as well as more
moderate 3,000-3,600 cfs events lasting for a week to a month.
Q:
Will releases be made from the Environmental Account in Lake McConaughy
for pulse flows that could aggravate downstream flooding?
A:
No. The Environmental Account manager may occasionally use the Environmental
Account to enhance naturally occurring longer, lower flow pulses
to make them more like the recommended 3,000-3,600 cfs “pulse
flows,” but will never use Environmental Account water to
create short duration, very high flow events. The Nebraska Plan
forbids releases from the Environmental Account that would cause
or aggravate flows above the flood stages as established by the
National Weather Service. This means that releases, in combination
with other North Platte flows, cannot exceed 3,750 cfs (flood stage
on the North Platte at the city of North Platte). Releases, in combination
with other Platte River flows cannot exceed 8,200 cfs (flood stage
for the Platte River at Grand Island), or flood stage at any other
official measuring point along the river. There are no plans to
augment flows to or near the capacity of the river. Bank overflow
will occur only because of natural high flow events.
Q:
Will releases from the Environmental Account in Lake McConaughy
aggravate rising water table problems downstream?
A:
In some areas, the current water table is already higher than in
the past and may still be rising. Environmental Account releases
are not yet being made, so current conditions are not caused by
the Environmental Account. Other potential factors such as changes
in municipal pumping practices and heavy precipitation in recent
years may contribute to the problem. The Water Committee may also
be using the data collected to explore the potential to use nuisance
groundwater to produce instream flows.
Q:
Will Program water from upstream reach the habitat areas?
A:
Yes. For any proposed Program to be successful and for the upstream
states to be willing to provide water for the Program, each state
must protect such water to be sure that it reaches the habitat area,
which is basically between Lexington and Chapman, Nebraska. Each
state has committed to review its laws and make any necessary changes
and each has affirmed that current laws provide such protection
for water from all or most sources. Program water will be tracked
through the system to demonstrate that water from upstream did reach
the habitat areas.
Q:
Where can the general public make its views known and obtain information
on the latest developments?
A:
The general public can make its views known and obtain information
on the Cooperative Agreement and Program by contacting Governance
Committee members and subcommittee chairs, attending committee meetings,
contacting Dale Strickland, the Governance Committee’s executive
director (toll-free phone number: (877) 634-1773), or checking the
Governance Committee’s web site at http://www.platteriver.org
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