Republican River Basin Water and Drought Portal

Water Development

Sources: The Bureau of Reclamation and Nebraska Conservation and Survey Division

The Republican River is formed by the confluence of the North Fork of the Republican River and the Arikaree River near Haigler, Nebraska. It flows eastward through Swanson Lake past the towns of McCook, Red Cloud, and Superior and then turns southeast through Kansas to unite with the Smoky Hill River at Junction City to form the Kansas River. The High Plains Aquifer is the predominant source of groundwater supply within the Republican River Basin. The aquifer underlies portions of eight western states, including Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska.

Early Development
Prior to the passage of the Homestead Act in 1862, the basin had few inhabitants other than American Indians. In the early 1870s pioneers came to the region from the east in search of land and opportunity. The first permanent, non-American Indian settlement was developed at Red Cloud in the eastern portion of the basin in Nebraska. Population in the basin increased from 1878 to 1882 when the railroad was being built along the river (Bjerke, 2009).

One of the first notable irrigation projects in the basin started in 1891 when Dominicus Hasty acquired water rights for the Arapahoe Irrigation and Improvement Company. The project seemed to be running smoothly and there was water in the ditch, but the farmers wouldn’t buy the water. Mr. Hasty tried to revive the project during the irrigation season of 1897, but farmers still refused to buy water and the company failed. However, other ventures eventually succeeded, and there were approximately 12,000 irrigated acres throughout Nebraska by the turn of the century (Bjerke, 2009).

Early Canals and Surface Water Irrigation
Early attempts at irrigation made the residents realize that the Republican River wasn’t an ideal irrigation stream. The potential for irrigation of the river was overstated because the total supply of water in it wouldn’t support extensive irrigation. High flows in the spring or after heavy rain events were usually replaced by sharp reductions during the drier periods over the summer months when crop needs are at their highest. Unpredictable droughts and years of low precipitation also disrupted the steady stream of river water for irrigation (Bjerke, 2009).

These issues and using river flows for irrigation was increasing competition for water causing the State of Nebraska to pass a major water rights law in 1895. The Prior Appropriation Doctrine reserved water for the oldest water right holder first, then, if any was left, the junior water right holders could take their share (in chronological order). The law also stated that water right holders who were first in time to acquire the right for a given amount of water were first in right to have access to the water.

Shortly after the arrival of surface water irrigation, ground water pumping began to be utilized in river valleys to a limited extent. Expansion of ground water irrigation was put on hold until larger deposits of the resource were discovered and technological advancements in drilling and pumping were realized. Thus, surface water continued to provide the primary source of irrigation water until the early- to mid-1950s. In 1902 the Reclamation Act authorized the construction of large dams, reservoirs and irrigation projects using federal money. A short time later the Bureau of Reclamation was developed. Expansion continued during the Great Depression drought years, but one major event prompted a rapid expansion of surface water development in the basin: the flood of May 1935.

The 1930s Drought and Flood
Drought occurred in the early 1930s followed by a devastating flood in May of 1935.  Rapid rainfall throughout the basin and near the headwaters area resulted in an eight-foot wall of water blasting through the length of the river valley. The flood devastated areas along the entire length of the river valley, killing 110 people and causing an estimated $8.7 million (equivalent to more than $100 million today) in damage in Nebraska alone.

The disastrous flood of 1935 led the residents to take the first of a long series of steps to develop, control and improve the land and water resources in the basin. Landowners, businessmen and other concerned citizens requested assistance from the federal government. In response to these appeals, the Department of the Interior Agriculture and War Department conducted comprehensive studies and surveys of the area. The Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) started its work in 1939, and by 1943, Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska (with the consent of Congress) entered into the Republican River Compact in order to fairly divide the waters of the Republican River Basin.

Ogallala Blue discusses the epic flood of 1935. The flood carried the highest stream flow ever recorded in Nebraska at 280,000 cubic feet per second. One Colorado rancher claimed that he received 24 inches of rainfall in a 24-hour time period. During the flood over 100 people and 20,000 head of livestock were lost, making it one of the worst floods recorded in the area.

Nina Berger Fuller gave an account of the 1935 flood. "We lived in Culbertson. Fred drove a tank wagon for Standard Oil Company. Memorial Day we visited the cemetery in McCook, then decided to drive out to see my folks, who lived on the Miner Ranch on the Driftwood in the Cornell neighborhood 15 miles southwest of Culbertson. About four o’clock in the afternoon black angry-looking clouds began to roll up in the west. We had been having many bad storms recently and we thought we should start for home. My father said we should stay for supper, said the cloud looked bad, we’d better not start out. Fred remarked, “If I thought I might see some high water, I’d stay.” Little did he know what he might see! High water was not uncommon on the Driftwood. All the ranch buildings were close to the creek. We had seen it out of its banks many times, but it had never come into the house. The storm came fast with severe thunder and lightning. The men put the baby calves and pigs in the barn so they’d be safe. It started raining very hard. The men came in for supper. The rain poured down. By the time we finished eating, we knew for sure we were in for something bad. The neighbors, the Nealeaghs who lived about four miles up the creek called. "The water is out of the creek banks and ready to come into our house." It had never been that high before." Quote courtesy from the NWS in Goodland, Kansas.

Rapid Expansion of Development and Irrigation in the 1940s
As a result of the floods and drought in the 1930s, Congress authorized the Missouri River Basin flood-control and land-reclamation project. Its dams include Harlan County, Milford, Bonny, Enders, Medicine Creek, and Lovewell. The first construction project called the Bostwick Division was authorized by Congress on December 22, 1944 and work began in 1948. By 1957, the Nebraska part of the division was essentially complete, and the structures in Kansas were nearing completion. Reservoirs that were developed as part of these projects still provide sources of water for many uses today (i.e. irrigation, recreation and wildlife habitat). All of these water use practices are essential for life on the Republican River Basin today just as they were in the 1940s and before.

In addition to surface water, ground water development in the basin also expanded rapidly during the World Water II era. The predominant source of ground water supply within the Republican River Basin was and still is the High Plains Aquifer. The aquifer underlies portions of eight western states, including Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. In 1940 there were approximately 30,788 irrigated acres. In 2000 that number had grown to 2,757,110 acres, which has been a cause of aquifer declines in some areas of the basin. The number of estimated irrigated acres within the Republican River from 1940 to 2000 is illustrated in Figure 1. Those numbers may have increased rapidly in the mid 1940s due to the introduction of ground water into the irrigation circuit.  

Total Estimated Irrigated Acreage in Republican River Basin
Year	Colorado	Kansas	Nebraska
1940	5,409	2,952	22,427
1950	15,900	6,080	188,031
1960	62,736	50,882	451,385
1970	428,009	196,831	638,969
1980	664,161	357,710	1,428,685
1990	667,351	402,132	1,498,400
2000	667,891	434,767	1,654,452

Figure 1. Total Estimated Irrigated Acreage in the Republican River Basin
Source: Final Report of the Special Master 2003

Effects of Development
In other areas, beginning in the 1940s, accretions from surface water canals began to migrate into the Republican Basin ground water system and introduced a significant new source of recharge into the system. Similarly, land management practices (i.e. farming practices, habitat alterations, etc.) have also had an effect on surface water runoff and aquifer recharge, although they haven't been adequately studied in the basin. In some cases, these practices increase surface water runoff into streams and reduce infiltration of water to the subsurface or vice-versa.

In general, the creation of new water infrastructure, expansion of irrigated acres, implementation of conservation practices, and climate variability (bringing droughts and floods) have affected ground water levels and stream flows over time. As one result, the Nebraska Conservation and Survey Division (NCSD) has recorded ground water declines of 20 to 50 feet in western portions of the Republican River Basin in Nebraska, as shown in Figure 2 (click on the image for a larger map). Since there have been changes in the basin's hydrologic cycle, it is difficult to tell whether the ground water levels will return to predevelopment levels. Similar information can be found for Kansas and Colorado at the USGS National Water Information System.

Figure 2. Ground water level changes in Nebraska from 1950 to 2008
Source: Conservation and Survey Division

Current Issues
In recent years, concerns over water allocation and decline have caused Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska to renegotiate their water-sharing compact. A Republican River Compact Administration has been created to administer the compact. These and other organizations and programs, such as the Republican River Riparian and Restoration Partners, are being developed to foster sustainable water resources management in the Republican River Basin. The Republican River Riparian and Restoration Partners, led by seven Resource Conservation and Development Programs (RC&Ds), has been created to help provide leadership in the planning and coordination of sound conservation practices and to bring federal, state, and local entities together to implement a viable living Republican River Basin by 2037.  The federal projects in place today include a system of seven Bureau of Reclamation reservoirs, two Corps of Engineers' reservoirs and six irrigation districts.  All of these projects and organizations are in place to ensure a healthy basin in years to come.

Reference Sited

Bjerke, R. (2009). Stakeholder Perceptions of Water Supply Management and Sustainability in the Republican River Basin in Nebraska. University of Nebraska - Lincoln.  School of Natural Resources.