History of Central Booklet (PDF Version)

The booklet above gives a brief summary of the Central district from it’s creation to current operations. As you read it, you will realize – water-related issues will continue to be controversial. Just as early settlers in the “Old West” fought over the possession of water holes, streams and springs because, “This here water hole’s not big enough for the both of us,” so do the battles over water continue today. Although the reasons may have changed and the battles take place in the court room instead of on the dusty plains, disagreements over how water resources are allocated and utilized are not likely to abate soon.

Central intends to move forward in the area of integrated water management. As outlined in the Strategic Plan and mentioned in this booklet’s Introduction, it is Central’s goal to continue 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 … It is important that these activities 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.”