Groundwater management plan Archives

Following the adoption of the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District’s (P-MRNRD) new Groundwater Management Plan in February, new rules and regulations go into effect on March 1, 2018. While this may seem ominous, the new rules don’t require everything to change all at once.

For instance, requirements to follow new fertilizer application dates won’t apply until after the 2018 crops are harvested. Once crops are harvested, organic and low-level non-organic nitrogen fertilizer (<40 lbs N per acre) can be applied in all areas of the District. Application of higher levels of non-organic nitrogen fertilizer (>40 lbs N per acre) must wait until after March 1, 2019, in the Platte and Elkhorn River valley (HCA area) and until after November 1, 2018, across the rest of the NRD (Non-HCA area).

The main requirement that does go into effect March 1, 2018, is that anyone within the District proposing to construct a high capacity well (those pumping over 50 gallons per minute) must submit for a Water Supply Well Permit from the District. The application form for the permit is available online, or can be printed and submitted via email, fax at 402-896-6543, or by mail. Please visit our Groundwater Quantity page for instructions and more details.

Finally, the District will be reviewing and considering a new Groundwater Management Program cost-share policy at its Subcommittee and Board of Directors meetings on March 6^th and 8^th respectively. This policy would make cost-share available from the NRD to landowners to improve irrigation efficiency and help landowners in Phase II Groundwater Quality Management areas pay for soil nutrient testing. It would also provide cost-share for up to five years for irrigators in the Platte and Elkhorn River valley to purchase and install flow meters. After five years, flow meters will be required on all irrigation wells in this area.

It is also the intention of the NRD to continue to offer educational opportunities about the new Groundwater Management Plan in areas across the District. Topics will include irrigation management, nutrient management, domestic well groundwater testing and wellhead protection.

Three public hearings are scheduled across the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District (P-MRNRD) to gather community feedback on the District’s new Groundwater Management Plan.

The current P-MRNRD Groundwater Management Plan for the six-county NRD area including Sarpy, Douglas, Washington, and Dakota Counties plus the eastern portions of Burt and Thurston Counties in Nebraska, acknowledged a lack of existing information about groundwater quantity and quality. Since 1994, P-MRNRD has gathered a significant amount of hydrogeologic information on the distribution of groundwater aquifers across the district. Furthermore, with over 30 years of groundwater monitoring data, information on specific areas within the district with water quantity and quality issues have been identified.

Topics to be discussed at the public hearings include:

– Who would be affected?
– Proposed rules and regulations
– What are the benefits of the new plan?
– What would change?
– What portions of the District may be designated as a Groundwater Management Area?

More than 750,000 people live in the Papio-Missouri River NRD area and many rely on clean groundwater as their drinking water supply, for irrigation, and various industrial uses. The new Groundwater Management Plan has been prepared with more recent data, as well as input from stakeholders across the District who represented groundwater users in the NRD. The new Groundwater Management Plan is expected to replace the existing plan.

Public Hearings

The public hearings in Dakota City, Tekamah, and Omaha are scheduled as follows:

November 30, 2017 @ 6:30 p.m. – Dakota City Field Office, 1505 Broadway, Dakota City, NE
December 7, 2017 @ 6:30 p.m. – First Northeast Bank of Nebraska, 2^nd Floor Conference Room, 448 South 13^th Street, Tekamah, NE
December 14, 2017 @ 7:00 p.m. – Natural Resources Center, 8901 S. 154^th Street, Omaha, NE

Tag: Groundwater management plan

Public Hearings for New Groundwater Management Plan