Water problem No. 7 -- base flows and dams

Dear Editor,

Problem 7 with the Model -- Base Flows and Dams

When you build a dam and store a lot of water in the reservoir, some of that water will seep into the ground and increase the aquifer levels in the areas below the dam. The increased aquifer levels will cause an increase in the amount of water seeping out of the ground and into the streams. At least that is how it works everywhere except in the Republican River Basin.

According to the Model, the base flows on each of the streams with a dam in the Republican River Basin have been reduced by half since the dams were built. That defies common sense as well as what every hydrologist we talked to says should happen. Yet, that is what the Model shows.

The Model assigns this drop in the base flow to irrigation, saying it was caused by irrigation. Yet, according to the Model, the drop in flows happened prior to 1950, which is before almost any groundwater irrigation had been developed.

To correct the problem would require the maker of the software to work with the people who have prepared the data in order to find and correct the problem in the formula. This is something that the three State technical committees should do.

But, Kansas has very little reason to cooperate with this, even if it is obviously wrong, as it works to their advantage. If Nebraska had permitted the public to participate in a review of the Model before it was formally agreed to, then perhaps this type of error could have been found. Now, to correct the problem, the people who agreed to the error will need to tell the US Supreme Court that they made a mistake and need to undo it. Again, this is something that only the Governor or the Attorney General can do, though the NRDs can encourage it and have a duty to persuade those who are responsible to make the correction.

Steve Smith,

WaterClaim.org

Imperial