Implementing irrigation cuts will be tough job

Twenty-five percent off. Is it a bargain or not?

That depends; "Buy three, get one free" sounds like a lot better tire sale than "Get 25 percent off, but only if you buy four."

A 25 percent reduction in groundwater irrigation pumping is what the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources is proposing to bring Nebraska into compliance with the Republican River Compact by 2012.

It's a proposal Josh Friesen, chairman of the Middle Republican Natural Resources District called a "soft" and flexible plan that still may not be acceptable to area NRDs, who are still hoping some type of augmentation will be part of the plan.

Despite losing an argument that groundwater doesn't apply to the 1943 Republican River Compact agreement with Kansas, Nebraska has remained out of compliance for the last three years -- mostly because of the continuing drought. Despite the relatively wet winter, estimates show we'll still use 200,000 acre feet more than we're allowed this year.

The settlement of Kansas' 1998 lawsuit didn't require any cash from Nebraska, but the Sunflower State won't stand being shorted forever without going back to court.

Besides the 25 percent reduction of water proposed for wells near the river, the DNR proposal calls for pumping cutbacks of 15 percent for wells farther from the river.

How does an irrigator cut 15 percent of his water use, let along 25 percent? Leave every fourth row of corn blank?

More likely, every fourth farm will be converted to dryland crops, as is already happening along the Republican River valley, with the resulting decline in property value and property tax receipts.

But there are ways to cope with water restrictions, which will be the topic of the annual Southwest Nebraska Water Conference, set for Thursday at the Red Willow County Fairgrounds Community Building in McCook.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., with the first session starting at 9 a.m.

Sponsored by the Middle Republican NRD, the conference will focus on $3.1 million in basin-wide projects to deal with the irrigation crisis, including surface water buyout, a pocket irrigation guide, remote meter reading, EQIP Irrigated Acre Retirement, a riparian river project and, yes, the Republican River Augmentation Appraisal Study.

Representatives of Sen. Ben Nelson's office, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the SunOpta food company, Southwest Nebraska RC&D and Middle Republican NRD will offer projects that will help deal with the water challenge.

Anyone concerned about irrigation and the future of agriculture in the Republican Valley would do well to invest a day at the conference.

More information is available at (800) 873-5613 or at http://www.mrnrd.org.