By Russ Pankonin, The Imperial Republican Co-Publisher
     Next Wednesday, state senators on the Legislatures Natural Re-sources Committee will hear a bill that could well determine the future of southwest Nebraska and the entire Republican River basin.
     The senators will hold a hearing on Imperial Senator Mark Christensens water bill, LB 701. He drafted the bill to address water issues facing the Republican basin. More specifically, the bill focuses on ways to get Nebraska in compliance with a 2002 settlement with Kansas over water flows into that state from the Nebraska side of the basin.
     The first challenge will be to get the bill out of committee in some form that can be crafted on the Legislative floor to address the issues facing the basin.
     The next challenge will be to gain support from senators in the metro and eastern portions of our state.
     As Governor Heineman said this week, those people believe that our water problems here are just thatour problem. He said its going to be a tough sell to convince those senators that the whole state should bear a responsibility for what they consider to be our problem.
     On the other side of that coin, it was then Governor Mike Johanns and the State of Nebraska who opted to settle the lawsuit with Kansas.
     There was so much political jockeying going on over the issue, such as Johanns wanting to get the situation cleaned up prior to an expected run for the U.S. Senate. Instead, he left Nebraska to become Secretary of Agriculture.
     Attorney General Don Stenberg, who had his eye on the same Senate seat, initially denied that Kansas ever had basis for their suit.
     If you read the special feature in Sundays Omaha World-Herald on the states water issues, you would see they say irrigators have exploited groundwater to the extent of mining it. That type of agenda does little to build support for our cause.
     So just how do we build support? The first step in that effort is to travel to Lincoln by the droves next Wednesday and fill one, two or three hearing rooms.
     Despite whether you agree with all aspects of LB 701, this bill provides the vehicle to address water issues in the Republican Basin. It will be hard for senators to ignore the kind of representation I expect in Lincoln next week for this bill. We can send a message with our presence that this is one of the most important issues facing not only our region but the state as well.
     Our livelihoods are on the line. Regardless of how you make a living, when its all said and done, nearly all the jobs in rural Nebraska are tied to the success of agriculture.
     This is our chance to be heard. Its your turn to pick up the ball and run with it by letting our state senators know just how important an issue this is to all.