By Russ Pankonin
    The Imperial Republican
     Senator Mark Christensen knows his water bill, LB 701, will face a tough battle, first getting it out of committee, and then getting the 25 votes necessary for passage.
     He also knows the bill faces opposition from other Nebraska natural resource districts outside of the Republican Basin.
     During his weekly teleconference Tuesday, he questioned if other NRDs in the state realize how serious the situation in the Republican Basin really is.
     Christensen's biggest fear is that without the language of LB 701 in statute, a federal judge could shut down irrigation in all of the Republican Basin.
     His bill would create a basin-wide authority that could undertake a number of water management activities, including augmenting water supplies.
     These efforts could help the state come into compliance with the compact settlement reached with Kansas on Republican water use.
     Other activities included in the bill are managing vegetation along rivers and streams, retiring acres, purchasing surface water rights, developing and managing a water bank and providing incentives for less consumptive water use.
     Christensen said Kansas elected a new attorney general and indications are that he will go after Nebraska if the state fails to comply with the settlement.
     If that happens, it's not beyond the possibility that a federal judge could shut down irrigation in the Republican Basin until compliance is met, the senator noted.
     That would be devastating to the economy of the basin, he said. "I'm not trying to be an alarmist. I hope I'm wrong. But I feel people need to be aware what might happen in a worst case scenario," he said.
    Transfer language in bill
     LB 701 empowers the new authority to be able to augment water supplies by an inter-basin transfer.
     Christensen said that language is key if Kansas would sue over compliance issues.
     He said Colorado had such a process in place when a similar situation arose between Colorado and Kansas on Arkansas River flows.
     As a result, Colorado irrigators in that basin were not shut down because of the alternatives available for transferring water.
     This week, managers and members of the state's NRDs are meeting in Lincoln to set policy on legislation.
     The managers of the NRDs and the state association's legislative committee review legislation and forward recommendations to the general voting assembly of the NRDs.
     When LB 701 came up for discussion Monday, at least 12 NRDs voiced opposition to the bill, according to Upper Republican NRD Manager Jasper Fanning.
     Fanning feared the recommendation would be to oppose the bill all together. However, he said they were able to negotiate a compromise not to take any stand on the bill.
     However, a policy statement forwarded to the general membership included a statement opposing inter-basin transfers.
     That policy statement was up for debate during the business session Tuesday afternoon.
     While he opposed the language against transfers, Fanning said he voted for the wording as a show of support for the compromise effort for the association to take no official position on LB 701.
     Fanning said he hoped the policy language on transfers could be modified during further debate by the membership Tuesday afternoon.
     Managers Mike Clements of the Lower Republican NRD and Dan Smith of the Middle Republican NRD voted against the compromise.
     Clements said he had a problem that the policy statement did not allow for transfers.
     He, too, was hopeful that could be changed during the general business session.
    Lack of understanding
     Christensen said one of the biggest battles he's fighting on LB 701 revolves around the lack of understanding of the issue.
     He noted if he's able to sit down and discuss the bill with people, he said he's able to make some progress.
     Christensen said he's been visiting with a number of NRDs, who after hearing his presentation, better understand the seriousness of the situation and the need for legislation. "There's still a lot of ground to make up," he said.
     Both Christensen and Clements fear that citizens throughout the basin don't fully understand just how serious the current situation is.
     "I don't believe most people think this is a crisis," the senator said.
     If the basin was forced to switch from irrigation to dryland for five to seven years, the impact on schools, cities, counties, hospitals would be devastating, Christensen said.
    Alma forum raises awareness
     That issue was raised extensively during a forum held in Alma recently.
     The forum was organized by Franklin School Superintendent Mike Lucas and was attended by more than 230 people.
     "It opened a lot of eyes on the domino effect that would occur," Lucas said.
     Educators got a clear picture of what would happen to schools if land values declined as a result, he added.
     "It's really about the kids and the impact it will have on our future," Lucas said.
     Clements said he was surprised at how few school board members in that area were fully aware of the problems being faced in the basin and what it would mean to schools.
     Their efforts gained the attention of Gov. Dave Heineman. He has asked to meet with a group of businessmen, farmers and educators from the region in early February on how to address the issues.