LINCOLN, Neb.—Nebraska will stop releasing water into Kansas now that the states have reached a tentative agreement on Kansas’ future access to water from the Republican River, state officials said Thursday.
The Nebraska Department of Natural Resources announced that the releases into north-central Kansas will end, which will give Kansas more access to water later this summer and in future years.
In exchange, the Kansas Bostwick Irrigation District has said its use of the water will not hinder Nebraska’s efforts to comply with the Republican River Compact, a 1943 water-sharing agreement among Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska. The dispute over the Republican River’s water has led to two lawsuits between Kansas and Nebraska.
In January, Nebraska limited the amount of water that upstream users can keep to make sure enough flows downstream into Kansas as part of the compact. That decision required surface water users to release water that they might otherwise use to grow crops.
Recently, Kansas officials had expressed interest in Nebraska holding back water for their use in the event of a future drought.
Water releases began last week at the request of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, after talks with Kansas stalled. The department requested the release to avoid a violation of the compact, which requires the state to store and release specific amounts of water for use by Kansas.
“I hope this is the start of finding common ground on water management solutions in the Republican River Basin so all water users in the basin may benefit,” said Brian Dunnigan, the department’s director.
The agreement between Nebraska and the Kansas Bostwick Irrigation District will be made permanent in a contract written by the United States Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the reservoir. It must be finalized by Friday or the water releases will continue.
