Map confirmed

Dear Editor,

This is in response to the criticism by Robert Swanson of the USGS office in Lincoln ( http://www.mccookgazette.com/story/1156630.html ). He says the surface water trend map produced by WaterClaim is misleading.

Our research and map creation started as a review of the claims made by those wanting to shut down irrigation on the Platte River. This group claimed that there was less water in the Platte now than there used to be.

So, we decided to go back to the data and see if that is true.

First thing I did was call the USGS in Lincoln and ask if they had ever produced a map showing surface water trends like has been done for the groundwater. I was told that no such map had been produced by the USGS or anyone else they knew of. So, I took on the task of creating a map because no one else had, and I felt it would be valuable and interesting information for everyone. To make this map and set of charts, I went to the USGS and obtained all of the publicly available information that I could from them. I called them to ask for help in accessing that data, and they were helpful. In fact, I linked to the data that is available.

Mr. Swanson says that my data doesn't go back far enough to show the true trends. I went back as far as the USGS stream gage data went. Most of the gages go back to the 1930s or 1950s. In 1994, the USGS decided to stop monitoring a lot of Nebraska gages and turned that over to the DNR.

So, for those gages, I had to go to the DNR and access their system.

Mr. Swanson wants to go back farther -- 150 years or 800 years -- to get the "true trend." I would be happy to do that, but that information isn't available. Prior to the installation of the gauges, the stream flow is pretty much a guess. It is very possible that the stream flowed more or less, but there is no real way to know that beyond what information is available. So, I quite simply formatted the factual information into an easy-to-read map based directly on USGS data.

Mr. Swanson seems to imply that average citizens are not capable of making an informed decision by looking at the data for themselves. I disagree.

I think anyone who wants to look at the facts is smart enough to take into consideration all of the available information and make an intelligent decision.

What is interesting is that, since I created the map and graphs, I have learned of another study done by two respected hydrologists at UNL during 2005 and 2006 that substantiates what I have reported. It studied 110 gages and concluded that nearly every gage in Nebraska, with the exception of those on the Republican, has a neutral or an increasing flow. I found the same. WaterClaim's study and the UNL study have similar findings because we base it on the same available USGS data.

Mr. Swanson has never talked to me. I would be happy to have him or anyone else review what I have done and visit directly with me about it.

Better yet would be if the USGS produced a map. The USGS has a multi-million dollar budget and many employees. A surface flow map produced by them would be helpful and respected by policy makers.

WaterClaim has discovered that the Platte River is in much better shape than what some people want everyone to believe. A highlight of the next report that we will release soon is that the Platte River at Grand Island was dry 17 percent of the time during the 17 years before Lake McConaughy was filled. This is as far back as the data is available. Compare that to the most recent 17 years -- the river has been dry only 2 percent of the time.

If the USGS has any more data available than they have made accessible to the public, I would be happy to incorporate it into the map that can be found at http://www.waterclaim.org. If the USGS thinks they can produce a better map, I wish they would. They are the professionals. I will likely trust their results, should they choose to produce the map. Meanwhile, the information we compiled is available. WaterClaim shows you exactly what we did, where we got the data, and you can see for yourself if there is a trend.

Without stating a perspective, I presented the facts. If Mr. Swanson is wanting to look back further in time in order to find trends with which he is happier, perhaps he will also make such data publicly available. It is important for communities and Nebraska's people to have all of the facts so that we may all make wise water policy decisions. This has always been one of WaterClaim's main goals. Put the facts in the hands of the people and trust they are intelligent enough and caring, good stewards enough to make educated decisions. We think it is better to work together. I cannot recall a time when WaterClaim has been unwilling to communicate with anyone. We believe in building and maintaining bridges between the data collectors and those interested in it.

Steve Smith,

WaterClaim

Imperial