Great Plains Projects

Platte-Republican Diversion

The background and our objection to a proposal to transfer water from the Platte River Basin to the Republican River Basin
The Platte River Initiative

On December 28, 2020, Audubon Nebraska submitted a legal objection to a proposed transfer of streamflow from the Platte River Basin to the Republican River Basin. If approved, this “interbasin transfer” would divert water from one overused river to another, resulting in few long-term benefits to either basin - but many ecological costs for both. 

The application to divert water from the Platte River and transfer it to the Republican River was first filed with the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources in April of 2018 but was dismissed following objections by Audubon Nebraska and a number of other concerned entities. A revised application has now been submitted by Lower Republican Natural Resource District(NRD) and the Tri-Basin NRD, and just as before, objections to the application have been filed. As the application and objections move through the lengthy, back-and-forth, review process, Audubon Nebraska will be keeping a close eye on developments.

The proposed transfer would divert up to 10,000 acre/ft. from the Platte River just east of the city of North Platte, NE, and send it south through a series of irrigation and hydropower supply canals. Eventually, the water will reach Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Republican River, through which it will flow into the State of Kansas.

Both the Platte and Republican River basins are short on water supply but high in water demand. Nebraska has the highest reported number of irrigated acres in the nation and communities within both river basins rely heavily on the local agricultural economy. But demand for water along both rivers stretches beyond the Nebraska state line and formal water-sharing agreements with neighboring states are in place along each.

Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, and the federal government have invested millions of dollars and decades of work into increasing streamflow in the central Platte River, which is critical habitat for the endangered and threatened species such as the Whooping Crane and Piping Plover, as well as other important species including the Interior Least Tern and the Sandhill Crane.

Proponents of the proposed interbasin transfer claim that only water that is not held under an approved water right will be diverted from the Platte River, but it must be remembered that there are benefits to having water in a river beyond fulfilling state-approved water rights and this stretch of the river is already either over-appropriated or fully appropriated. Platte River stream flows also support quality of life for surrounding communities through the provision of: clean drinking water; recreation, wildlife viewing, and hunting opportunities; and recharge for groundwater aquifers where water can be “banked” – saved during times of plenty and withdrawn during times of drought.

Over the years, people representing a diverse set of interests have learned that they could work together and improve conditions along the Platte River in order to benefit wildlife and ecology, as well as the economic wellbeing of people living in the watershed. Although challenging, these collective efforts have been successful and approval of the interbasin transfer would put the accomplishments of these long-standing efforts at risk.

 

 

Learn More
Biological Importance of the Central Platte River
Connection Between Water and Ecological Function
Policy Impacts
Streamflow Impacts to Communities
Conclusion

In their most recent application, the interbasin transfer project sponsors claimed that there would be little to no negative impacts associated with taking water from the Platte River Basin. This assertion ignores the fact that streamflow within a watershed provides a multitude of economic services to surrounding communities, and that there are a number of ecosystem functions dependent on streamflow that have not been granted legal water rights by the State of Nebraska.

In regard to both the administration of water rights and maintenance of ecological function, “excess” streamflows do not exist on the Platte River in most years. It may be possible to supplement Republican River streamflow in order to offset overuse of water in the Republican River Basin in some years, but not without a detriment to the water users, including birds and other wildlife, already facing similar water challenges in the Platte River Basin.

Because it is likely that water-short years in the Platte will continue to mirror water-short years in the Republican, approval of this interbasin transfer will decrease certainty for water users in both river basins during times of drought. Over the long-term, taking water from one water-short river and delivering it to another will not protect current water users or the rural economies that benefit from those uses.

Irrigators must either divert surface water from streams or pump groundwater stored in aquifers in order for agriculture to thrive in the semi-arid climate of the Great Plains; while at the same time, birds, fish, and wildlife depend on sufficient streamflow in the Platte River in order to support their habitat needs. In past decades, agricultural and environmental advocates have made good-faith efforts to find solutions for sharing the diminished streamflow that remains in the Platte River - allowing a portion of that highly valued water to be removed from the river would be deeply discouraging to all involved.  

Finally, if this interbasin transfer is approved, it would be the state’s first attempt to take water out of one overburdened river basin and send it to another in order to meet legal obligations, and would set a precedent for future transfers of water between river basins. That model of water management contradicts Nebraska’s long-standing and well-respected tradition of keeping decisions about natural resource use and conservation at the local level. Denying the application to transfer water from the Platte River to the Republican River is the best means of preserving habitat, local communities, and the public interest.