GRAND ISLAND, Neb.—Central Nebraska farmers want the excess water the city is considering pumping into the Platte River, but they can’t get access to it because of an irrigation well moratorium.
“It seems a waste to send it down the river,” said Mike Dobesh, who farms west of Grand Island.
The groundwater table is just 3 feet below the surface in one neighborhood. Dobesh said farmers could make good use of the water and possibly lower the high groundwater table, which is plaguing many homeowners.
Instead, the City Council is considering a $24 million dewatering plan that calls for 11 500-gallon-a.m.inute wells on the northwest side of town, 17 300-gallon-a.m.inute wells on the southeast side and one 1,100-gallon-a.m.inute well on the east side.
Farmers can’t use the water for irrigation because the Central Platte Natural Resources District board put a well moratorium in place in 2004. The moratorium was based on the impact drilling would have not on groundwater but on surface water and surface water rights, NRD manager Ron Bishop said.
A number of downstream surface water users with Platte River water rights have reported inadequate water flows in the Platte. The Nebraska Department of Natural Resources ordered no new depletions to the river, which meant a well moratorium, Bishop said.
Downstream users not getting enough water include the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, which wants increased flows for wildlife; and the cities of Lincoln and Omaha, which have recorded reduced water flows in their municipal well fields.
Bishop said Grand Island’s proposed dewatering plan could actually increase the flows in the Platte River if the water is discharged there.
But the plan is far from happening because its cost would strain the city budget.
An alternative plan would give some 4,500 property owners in high water-table areas a chance to vote on whether they wanted to pay an estimated $44 a month in tax to fund dewatering wells and discharge pipes. Such districts have been rejected by Grand Island homeowners in at least two previous votes.
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