Platte River

[eomaha]

Outlook for water in West isn't good

TORRINGTON, Wyo. - Severe water-shortage problems could continue in the West even if the drought breaks and heavy snowfall returns to the Rocky Mountains this winter.

Irrigators and natural resources officials from western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming heard that grim assessment Monday from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation manager who oversees the agency's North Platte River dam operations in Wyoming.

A sixth consecutive season of historic drought in the West would significantly deplete the seven mainstem reservoirs on the North Platte in southeastern Wyoming, said John Lawson, who manages the bureau's Wyoming Area Office near Casper.

For example, Pathfinder Reservoir - the largest of the seven impoundments and about 60 percent the size of Nebraska's Lake McConaughy - would probably be less than 10 percent full a year from now.

The Wyoming reservoir is now about 21 percent full.

"You kind of hate to get into these 'what ifs,' but if that were to happen another year . . . we would be in a situation where we'd have a reservoir system that's basically just a flow-through system," Lawson said. "It really wouldn't have any water in it at all."

That means it's critical that the mountains receive abundant snowfall this winter, that spring rains return to the High Plains and that people conserve water, Lawson said.

Irrigators in the Nebraska Panhandle have received roughly 55 percent to 60 percent of the normal water supply from the North Platte system for three consecutive years.

The bureau's scenarios for next year continue the drought pattern of seeing little, if any, recovery in the reservoirs.

The seven reservoirs ended the 2004 water year on Sept. 30 with a total 787,700 acre-feet in storage. If expected projections hold, the system would end 2005 with 779,700 acre-feet in storage. A reasonable minimum scenario would put the reservoirs at 580,700 acre-feet.

The system's average September storage is 1.5 million acre-feet.

"This is kind of getting into an 'empty basket' situation," Lawson said.

The bureau is projecting total system inflows from snowmelt runoff and rain this season of 1.33 million acre-feet. Its low-end projection is for 668,200 acre-feet.

Lawson said long-term weather projections are not encouraging.

Lawson said he planned to continue meetings initiated last year with North Platte irrigators on the question of creating individual water accounts in the reservoir system for the region's 13 irrigation districts as a way to encourage saving water.

The challenge is working out the details so all districts are treated fairly, he said.

Problems arise, he said, in allocating water in the accounts because not all irrigation districts have equal rights to natural flows in the North Platte.

Districts with superior rights don't need as much supplemental water from the reservoirs.

Ann Salomon Bleed, deputy director of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, said after the meeting that all water users need to focus on conservation to survive the dry years.

Bleed said she supports efforts to create ownership accounts in the Wyoming reservoirs. "I don't think anyone disagrees that it's the right thing to do; it's how to do it equitably.

"If you have ownership of a certain amount of water that you save - and it comes back to you - then there's an incentive to save. The devil is in the details."

[Coyote]

Where the Platte River used to flow

Omaha World-Herald

Where the Platte River used to

[Coyote]

VIDEO: Platte River Near Columbus, Nebraska Runs Dry

[Louie]

That is truly scary.

[Brad]

I flew along the Platte (And part of the Elkhorn) in a helicopter on Tuesday. Still a decent amount of water around here.

[TransitOriented]

I flew along the Platte (And part of the Elkhorn) in a helicopter on Tuesday. Still a decent amount of water around here.

Just an FYI for the folks that do not venture out west, "here" is east of Columbus. I assume the Loup river is keeping the Platte full for the eastern part of the state. Platte was quite a bit higher last week near Fremont.

I'm not an engineer but why don't they take some equipment down there to "harvest" some sand or create some channels for the river? When the river is 100% dry, who owns the majority of that land?

[daveoma]

I'm not accustomed to seeing the Platte river so low. It makes me sad and alarmed to see it that way.

[Coyote]

Where the Platte River used to flow

[Coyote]

"The river's always changing"; How Nebraska's Platte River is unique



Lt. Dennis Svoboda, with the Sarpy County Sheriff's Office, leads a training session on an airboat for the search and rescue team on the Platte River near Louisville, Neb.

[Coyote]

Douglas County campground closes after ice jams cause flooding



The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for lowlands along the Platte, Loup and Elkhorn rivers.

[Coyote]

Douglas County officials survey damage after ice jams from Platte River cause flooding at campground



WATERLOO, Neb. — A campground at Two Rivers State Recreation Area is closed due to flooding. Nebraska Game and Parks says the flooding is caused by ice jams along the Platte River. Monday, officials with Douglas County were out at the Cottonwood campgrounds surveying the area.

In a news release, Nebraska Game and Parks said the campgrounds will remain closed until the water recedes. According to the agency, about 50 sites at the campground were underwater. Benches are now damaged, left with blocks of ice sitting on them while puddles of sludge linger underneath.