A Brief History of The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District

-- Summary of Central's Origins, Development and Operations --

PART I ----- PART II

"People have always preferred to meet their water troubles head-on rather than quit their places of abode and industry. So people have applied their creative imagination, utilized their skills and released heroic energy. Man's endeavors to achieve a more desirable relationship with the waters of the earth have helped mold his character and his outlook toward the world around him."

-- Bernard Frank, U.S. Forest Service, 1955

Introduction

It was 1934. America was in the midst of the "Great Depression." In the Plains’ states, the effects of the depression were exacerbated by a withering drought. Farmers struggled to grow crops, struggled to stay on the land, struggled to feed their families during hard times. The rural areas and little towns in Nebraska that were dependent upon agriculture faced an uncertain future, trying to hold on until conditions improved.

The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District had been formed one year earlier, but its future also was in doubt. The project had met with strong opposition, its works had not been approved and funds were not available. The project’s supporters had made some headway, but a journey strewn with seemingly insurmountable obstacles still lay ahead.

J.E. Lawrence of Lincoln, a member of the state Public Works Advisory Board, recommended to the Public Works Administration that funds be allotted for the "Tri-County Project" to aid Nebraska's rural areas in their struggle. In a brief submitted to PWA officials in 1934, Lawrence wrote:

“The social problem involved is the security and stability of a region possessing no other natural resource than agriculture. Its lands are becoming less remunerative through any form of farm operation, and unless subsoil moisture and fertility can be restored to the conditions which prevailed when farm homes were built, the virgin sod broken, and towns and cities established as trading centers, abandonment of the farms and gradual decline of the cities and towns will become inevitable.

“It is not a question of permitting land to lie fallow for a few years. The geologists in Nebraska and the agricultural experts connected with the University of Nebraska assured the Nebraska advisory board that in a region where rainfall is no greater than it is in all of this area, 50 and possibly 100 years would elapse before the subsoil stores of moisture could be rebuilt.

“That would mean the destruction of more than 5,000 farm homes and a still greater number in the 20 towns and cities included in the district. It would nullify the settled policy of the administration to encourage rural life and it would condemn a civilization which has established splendid schools, built churches and hospitals and otherwise availed itself of all the modern conveniences and necessities, to a futile, uneven struggle against the overwhelming odds of nature.”

Subsequent developments would alter the course of the region's history. Before the decade had concluded, The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District project was approved and construction was underway. Its was designed to bring irrigation to rich soil in south-central Nebraska that lacked only sufficient precipitation to make farming productive. Hydroelectric plants were included in the project to take advantage of the flowing water, to help meet Nebraska’s growing demand for electricity and to help pay for the project.

The project accomplished all that its supporters said it would and more. Not only did it help develop one of the most successful and productive agricultural regions in the United States, the project’s lakes and the canal which links them together proved a significant benefit to wildlife and created opportunities for water-based recreation where none previously existed. Today, the irrigation project provides multiple benefits: hydroelectric generation, ground water recharge, fish and wildlife habitat and recreation.
The Central District has set a goal of becoming a leader in the area of integrated water resource management. Central's long-range Strategic Plan reads:

"The mission of the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District is to serve the agricultural-based community in south-central Nebraska by protecting and utilizing in a sustainable and ecologically balanced manner all of the natural resources available to us to provide reliable and reasonably priced surface water irrigation and ground water recharge while producing electric power and preserving and enhancing our quality of life and the natural environment in which we live."

In doing so, the document continues, the task must be “undertaken with the abiding conviction in, and understanding of, our overriding obligation to be good stewards of the region’s environment and its land and water resources."

Origins of the Central District

The merits of a plan to bring water to south-central Nebraska were being debated as early as 1887 when Joel Hull of Minden proposed the construction of a canal to produce hydroelectric power. With rain plentiful during the period, irrigation was considered a secondary benefit. The primary purpose was to provide ample electrical power to attract manufacturing plants and build prosperous cities around them.

Irrigation for consistent and abundant crop production had risen to the forefront by 1894. The proposed route of Hull’s canal was similar to the route the Phelps Canal would follow almost 50 years later, but Hull’s canal was never built. Droughts in 1894-95 and again in 1899-1900 were not enough to convince the public, nor the government, of the need for an irrigation project.

Hull’s plans did not develop quite as he had envisioned them, but the seeds had been planted and the canals that were eventually built helped bring to the area the prosperity that Hull had envisioned.

Supplemental Irrigation

It was called an “unusual suggestion.”

The suggestion was “supplemental irrigation” and it was proposed in 1913 by C.W. McConaughy, a grain merchant and mayor of Holdrege. The plan called for Platte River water to be brought via canals to central Nebraska farmland during the spring and fall when river flows were at their highest. The water would be used to soak the soil, allowing crops to draw upon the stored water during the growing season.

McConaughy’s inspiration for supplemental irrigation came one day as he drove home from Elm Creek through the farm country north of Holdrege. He noticed a field of wheat with spots where the wheat grew tall with long heads. In other places, the wheat was stunted and headed out before maturity.

After locating the owner of the field, McConaughy found that shocks of corn had been left in the field over the winter and drifts of snow had collected around the shocks. The water soaked into the soil when the snow melted in the spring and it was in these places where the wheat grew best. An idea was born.

The Tri-County Supplemental Water Association was created on Nov. 26, 1913 with McConaughy as president. It was to be the first of three irrigation organizations in which McConaughy was involved.

McConaughy put his idea into print in 1914 in The Commoner magazine (edited and published by William Jennings Bryan and his brother Charles). The article discussed the necessity of reaping an ever-increasing harvest by diverting flood water to irrigate semi-arid land:

“Apparently nature has intended it (flood water) for supplementing rainfall in this territory. All man must do is to lead it from the streams out upon the great divides and let it soak into the subsoil where it is ready for plant use.”1

McConaughy obtained approval for a federally funded survey to determine the feasibility of the plan, but he was disappointed when the results of the survey returned. The surveyors had treated the plan as a regular -- rather than supplemental -- irrigation project and had determined that there would not be enough water in the Platte River to irrigate crops. The unfavorable report ended chances of the canal being constructed ... for the time being.

Undiscouraged, McConaughy continued to speak on behalf of irrigation and was the main advocate of the irrigation movement in its early stages. In a speech which revealed the depth of his personal involvement in the crusade, McConaughy said:

“When I have stood and seen for weeks great volumes of water rolling down the Platte in the flood season to become a nuisance in the lower Mississippi and when I have seen the semi-arid lands in our counties suffering and thirsting for water during the crop-growing season, my heart has been set on fire with a vision.
“I have a vision of what Nebraska can be and ought to be if a combined effort were made by all of its citizens.”2

The Tri-County organization nearly died in 1916 when an ample amount of rainfall led to an abundant harvest. Through McConaughy’s efforts, the organization gained new life the next year, but it was a long battle that was only beginning. In 1922, the Nebraska Supplemental Water Association was created and McConaughy was elected president by acclamation. He announced his plans to reinvestigate the possibility of an irrigation project to counter the earlier unfavorable survey report. (See Map 1)

As late as 1925, the organization’s emphasis was still supplemental water, but the production of power was fast becoming a factor in the development of an irrigation project. Hydropower production required more than the amount of water used for a supplemental application of water -- it required a full-scale irrigation project with direct application of water to crops.

A Tri-County Leader

Another influential figure in the formative days of the District was George P. Kingsley, a Minden banker and businessman. Kingsley heard McConaughy speak about the wonders which could result for agriculture in the area from just a small amount of additional water. From that point on, he dedicated his time, energy and considerable talents to bringing irrigation to the area. Kingsley possessed refined organizational skills and held influence among important people in the area. He was well known for his sound judgement, determination and broad vision. From 1913 until his death in 1929, Kingsley worked to make the dreams of irrigation a reality.

Kingsley was elected vice president of the Tri-County Supplemental Water Association in 1913 and was elected vice president of the Central Nebraska Supplemental Water Association when it was organized in 1922. In recognition of his contributions to and leadership of early efforts to bring irrigation to the area, the great earthen dam that forms Lake McConaughy bears his name.

Hopes Wane

The 1920s and early ’30s brought one disappointment after another to Kingsley, McConaughy and other irrigation supporters.

A dry summer in 1926 gave new life to the Tri-County proposal as more and more farmers became convinced of the need for irrigation water. But renewed attempts to secure favorable legislation in Congress were met with the same strong opposition and the same result -- failure. By 1932 the future of the project was very much in doubt.

Despite the doubts, Tri-County supporters continued to press on toward the vision they shared for the future of Nebraska. Finally, on July 24, 1933, the Nebraska Department of Roads and Irrigation approved a petition to organize the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District, although many hurdles remained to be cleared before the project became a reality. The remainder of the year was spent preparing an application for funds to the Public Works Administration (PWA). The state PWA board approved the application in November and sent it to Washington.

It was too late. PWA funds had been depleted and Tri-County supporters were told they would have to wait for the next session of Congress.

However, while Tri-County struggled for survival, another irrigation project was trying to secure a Reconstruction Finance Corporation loan. The Lower Platte (Sutherland) irrigation project and the Tri-County project thus became competitors for funds as well as for Platte River water rights. The legal and political battles that followed were frequent and intense.

The Sutherland project was given final state approval in June of 1933 and its application was transferred from the RFC to the newly created PWA. It was one step ahead of the Tri-County project. However, Tri-County had already established a prior claim for a water right, while Sutherland had yet to secure the necessary water rights. The main protest from Sutherland was that there would not be enough water in the Platte River for two irrigation projects. Sutherland repeatedly challenged Tri-County's water rights, but to no avail.

Tri-County and Sutherland finally reached a compromise water rights agreement on Jan. 13, 1934, which resulted in water rights for both districts. Meanwhile, the PWA continued to study the Tri-County project and had given preliminary approval to the proposal. But the PWA doubted the project’s power generation claims and questioned if there would be a sufficient market for the electricity.

In answer to these questions, a Tri-County power market survey completed in February, 1934 showed 24 communities interested in Tri-County power. An estimate from a professor in the University of Nebraska's engineering department showed that the project's $44.6 million cost could be amortized in 44 years with the aid of power sales.

While Tri-County leaders continually battled opposition from supporters of the Sutherland project and the City of Grand Island,3 opposition sprung up in a surprising place -- the area which was to receive the benefits of the irrigation water, particularly Phelps County. Farmers were skeptical that the project was needed in the first place. They also feared that the project would be too expensive, that it would bring about higher taxes and that the project would never be able to pay for itself. Project opponents, particularly private power companies, were quick to instigate and play up these fears.

Indeed, with plentiful rainfall during most of the 1920s, it was difficult to make a case for the immediate need for an irrigation project. The drought and depression that gripped the land in the 1930s may have actually been a boon to Tri-County supporters. They pointed to withering corn fields and dusty topsoil being blown into drifts and said, in effect, “This could all be prevented. The project could insure us against drought and help this area prosper in the face of extended dry periods.”

Supporters held countless meetings to make the public aware of the facts pertinent to the proposal. The engineering plans and economic feasibility needed to be constantly defended against the attacks of opponents, attacks that Dr. D.W. Kingsley, the District's first president, called “unethical.”

Dr. Kingsley, the son of George Kingsley, decried the inaccurate information spread by opponents and worked tirelessly to remedy the lack of understanding about the project. Between 1933 and 1941, according to a 1958 Central District publication, “Don Kingsley furnished the leadership during the years of organization and construction when each day’s efforts often marked the difference between eventual success or failure and brought into being the development envisioned by his father and those associated with him in their early-day promotion of irrigation.”

Another important development occurred in April, 1934. PWA engineers visiting Nebraska suggested that a dam and reservoir be built on the North Platte River near Keystone instead of the two Plum Creek Reservoirs proposed in Tri-County’s plan. The dam would store enough water to supply the Sutherland project, the Tri-County project and, said the engineers, some future irrigation projects.

Tri-County immediately filed for storage rights behind the proposed dam.

Dreams Realized: PWA Approves Project

The Keystone Dam proposal probably saved the Tri-County project. The PWA had decided to reject the project, but the project was transferred to a special review board which endorsed it with the new dam site. But an obstacle remained ... the PWA still had no funds to offer.

Regardless of the review board’s assessment, the PWA's engineering and finance divisions had rejected the project because they believed that costs would far exceed submitted estimates and the power generation proposal was “technically unsound.” Tri-County leaders submitted a new application with revised cost estimates to the PWA on Jan. 23, 1935. The board recommended that a way be found to avoid duplication of the power market served by Sutherland.

Tri-County’s application was again revised and submitted to the PWA Power Division on Aug. 1, 1935. It included a diversion dam near Keystone, the Plum Creek reservoirs and power plants. The cost was estimated at $33.6 million.

Three weeks later, Tri-County submitted its final application to the PWA. The Keystone dam proposal had been dropped and the size of the three power plants had been reduced, but plans for both Plum Creek reservoirs were intact.

The long-awaited approval of the Tri-County project came on Aug. 24, 1935. The power division of the PWA recommended approval of a $20 million loan to the project after its water rights were validated.

As approved, the project would bring water to 305,000 acres from just west of Bertrand in Gosper County to 10 miles east of Minden in Kearney County. Another 144,000 acres in Adams County would also receive water (see Map 2).

Celebrations erupted throughout south-central Nebraska when the news was made known on Sept. 26, 1935. A parade, complete with bands and floats, was staged in Hastings as tribute was paid to all of Tri-County’s leaders. The people of Adams County had been the project's staunchest supporters, but a turn of events denied the county the water for which it had worked so hard.

Project Revisions

The Sutherland project continued its opposition even after President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially signed the approval for the $20 million loan on Sept. 18, 1935. In addition, Nebraska’s six large private power companies opposed the Tri-County loan by bringing suit against the PWA.4

The opposition from the Sutherland supporters and the power companies resulted in significant changes to the original water claims, the most important of which was the PWA’s recommendation that a large reservoir on the North Platte River be constructed after all, instead of the Plum Creek reservoirs.

Grand Island municipal leaders filed an appeal in the the Nebraska Supreme Court in December, 1935 in opposition to the granting of Tri-County’s water rights. Although the court refused to reject the water rights outright, it did rule that the Project could not divert water out of the Platte River watershed, eliminating more than half of the lands which were to be irrigated and all of the acres in Adams County. Repeated attempts by Tri-County leaders to have the acres reinstated were unsuccessful.

The court’s ruling on June 29, 1936 became known as the “Osterman Decision” (Osterman vs. CNPPID). Several legislative attempts to revise Nebraska irrigation law to permit transbasin diversions failed before the ruling was overturned in 1980 and such diversions legalized (Little Blue NRD vs. Lower Platte NRD).

With the number of irrigated acres reduced by half, Tri-County leaders accepted the PWA’s recommendations and revised the Project’s plans in order to keep it financially feasible. The two Plum Creek Reservoirs were dropped and plans were drawn up to increase electrical generating capacity (see Map 2 and Map 3).

The decision to build the dam near Keystone (now known as Kingsley Dam) led to the resignation from the Tri-County Board of Directors of one of its founders and staunchest advocates. C.W. McConaughy could not accept the decision to replace the two Plum Creek reservoirs with the dam that created -- ironically -- Lake McConaughy. McConaughy lived to see construction of much of the project for which he had worked so hard, but died on April 13, 1941, only a few months before the formal dedication of the Tri-County project.

Construction Begins

Construction of the Tri-County project began on March 13, 1936 with ground-breaking ceremonies on the Phelps County Canal, followed by simultaneous work on Kingsley Dam, the North Platte Diversion Dam, the Supply Canal, the three downstream hydroelectric plants and the irrigation canals and laterals. Most of the construction on the project’s works was finished during 1940 and the Supply Canal was opened in November, 1940. The first power was generated at the Jeffrey plant on Jan. 5, 1941.

Kingsley Dam was closed in early 1941 allowing storage in Lake McConaughy to begin. The dam was officially dedicated at ceremonies on July 22, 1941 and the first irrigation water from Lake McConaughy was delivered that same year. Irrigation delivery and related operations began in earnest in 1942 and the project was officially completed in 1943.

The total cost of the Project was $43 million, paid by a $19 million PWA grant and a $24 million federal loan (the federal debt was paid off when the loan was refinanced in 1972; the refinanced portion of the debt was paid off in 1995). The Depression-era construction project provided jobs to more than 1,500 people, but it was not simply a “make-work” project. It was the culmination of many years of planning and hard work. It was the realization of the hopes and dreams of a group of irrigation pioneers who foresaw the prosperity irrigation water would bring to south-central Nebraska.

Public Power

One of the PWA's primary concerns was suitable markets for the power produced by Nebraska's new hydroelectric projects. The Loup and Sutherland projects had planned to distribute most of their production to private power companies for distribution, but the additional production from the Tri-County project made it possible for the hydroplants to serve virtually all of the power needs that existed in Nebraska in the late 1930s.

In 1937 the three public power districts began to consider the possibility of purchasing the private power companies. The private power interests resisted initial buy-out attempts by the public districts, but in August, 1939 the Loup Public Power District in Columbus organized the Consumers Public Power District as a state-wide distributing agency. The formation of the Nebraska Public Power System -- a joint operating agreement between the Loup, Sutherland and Tri-County projects -- in 1940 signaled the beginning of the end of private power in Nebraska. Consumers and NPPS made purchase of the private companies feasible and inevitable. Beginning with Consumers' purchase of the Northwestern Public Service Company in July, 1940 and ending with the Omaha Public Power District's purchase of the Nebraska Power Company's properties in December, 1946, Nebraska's needs for electricity became served entirely by public power organizations.

Tri-County withdrew from the Nebraska Public Power System in 1949 to devote its attention to irrigation. In 1970, portions of the Platte Valley and Loup districts were merged with Consumers and NPPS to form the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD).

Learning to Farm Under Irrigation

When Central first began delivering water, agricultural practices were primitive by today’s standards. Horse- or mule-drawn implements were still used by many farmers and irrigation methods, such as canvas dams and lath boxes or simply flooding a field, were crude.

Making use of a temporary diversion dam located on the Platte River about 10 miles southeast of Lexington, Central first delivered water to the newly dug canals in the irrigated area during the spring of 1938. Approximately 3,300 acres received up to nine inches of water per acre that summer, resulting in immediate and significant increases in crop yields.

While irrigation in Nebraska dated back to the 1880s, its use was mostly confined to areas immediately adjacent to rivers and natural streams. Early irrigation methods and equipment were not very efficient, although they were an improvement over the alternative of waiting for rain.

After the irrigation canals were ready, Central sponsored demonstration days to show farmers how to utilize the water. One such "irrigation school" of note was conducted on April 28-29, 1938 by Ivan Wood, an irrigation specialist from the University of Nebraska Agricultural College's Extension Service. Held at the Henry Peterson farm eight miles northwest of Holdrege, the school attracted an estimated 10,000 people over two days. Wood demonstrated various instruments for leveling ground, making farm laterals, the use of canvas dams or light, steel dams for shutting off water or raising water levels in a lateral, the use of homemade turnouts and how to distribute water over the field in the most practical manner.

Corn yields jumped from an average of 28 bu./acre in the 1920s to more than 100 bu./acre on irrigated ground under improved farming practices during the 1940s. Much changed during the decade of the 1950s. While hybrid seeds were developed and commercially available as early as the 1920s, their use didn’t become common until the 1950s. The use of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides became widespread and farmers learned more efficient ways to irrigate.Today, yields of more than 200 bu./acre are not uncommon. A reliable source of water for crops enabled many farmers to prosper instead of being driven from the land by the whims of nature.

Vital Roles, Important Leadership

Prior to, during and after the formation of the District, George E. Johnson and Ralph O. Canaday played vital roles in the development of the project.

Johnson promoted the “Tri-County Project” from 1915 until its approval in 1935. He then became the chief engineer and general manager of the project during its construction. He left the District in 1946 to supervise dam developments in Argentina, but civil unrest and government instability in that country prompted his return to Nebraska and his duties as Central's chief engineer in 1950.

He later designed and supervised construction of the Canaday Steam Plant and was manager of the Steam Division from 1957 until his retirement at age 74 in 1959. He retained ties with Central, even in retirement, serving as a consultant until 1964.

Johnson’s dedication to improving conditions for mankind were represented in a report he wrote to the government of Argentina after completing his work there. His words, though written in South America, relate very well to his work in Nebraska:

“What happens to the land, the soil, the water and the minerals within the earth determines what happens to its people. It is upon these resources that men and nations must build. These are the foundations upon which our hopes and dreams for a future of prosperity and security are based.”5

Canaday served as legal counsel for the organization that was promoting the District in its early years. When the Central District was formed in 1933, he became its chief counsel and secretary of the board. He also served as general manager of the District from 1950-57 and as general manager of the Hydro and Irrigation Division from 1957 until his retirement in 1959.

Canaday was recognized upon his retirement for his service to the people of Nebraska and for his “devotion, determination and high legal and managerial ability and integrity during the District's first 25 years.”6

Another influential figure during the efforts to secure federal approval and dollars for the project was U.S. Senator George W. Norris of McCook. Norris represented Nebraska in Congress for more than 40 years, including 30 years (1912-42) in the Senate. Best known for his role in the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority and his sponsorship of legislation that created the Rural Electrification Administration, Norris played a pivotal role in guiding the project through the federal government's bureaucratic maze.

He first submitted a bill for construction of the project in the U.S. Senate in 1925. The bill passed in the Senate but failed in the House. Over the next ten years, he worked with Tri-County supporters to gain approval for the project.

Norris personally intervened on behalf of the Tri-County Project on several occasions. His efforts to persuade Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes and President Roosevelt eventually were successful. On one occasion in August, 1935, he informed Ickes that he was "about done playing around with him," and progress toward approval suddenly gained momentum.

After the project received preliminary approval from Roosevelt on Aug. 24, 1935, supporters of the Sutherland project made another attempt to derail the process by trying to convince the president not to give final approval to the project. However, Roosevelt, out of respect for Norris and his work in Congress, dismissed the objections and granted final approval for the project.

Norris attended ceremonies at the Jeffrey Hydroplant on Jan. 5, 1941. As he flipped the switch to bring the plant on line, he said, "Here, for the first time, we are going to put the Platte River's waste water to use for the benefit of us all, to moisten our soil and produce cheap electricity."7

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