RED CLOUD (AP)-Directors of the Nebraska Bostwick Irrigation District last week approved selling some of its stored and surface water to the state for about $5.7 million.
     The deal involves 12,500 acre-feet of water the district has stored in Harlan County Reservoir and 5,000 acre-feet of the Republican River's natural flow.
     Last year the district sold around 10,000 acre-feet in Harlan plus 5,000 acre-feet of river flow for about $2.5 million.
     Last year's sale was put to a district-wide vote, which went 172-14 to sell the water.
     Money for the purchase will come from provisions of a bill (LB701) passed this session by the Legislature.
     Under it, officials can impose a new tax levy of 10 cents per $100 of assessed property value on all Republican River basin residents and a $10 per-acre fee on irrigated land.
     The property tax levy and fee could raise up to $16 million a year. The money can be used to buy and lease water to send to Kansas, reduce water-consuming vegetation along the river and possibly augment it with groundwater, among other things.
     The bill also includes a water fund filled with state general fund dollars and new regulatory powers for natural resources districts statewide.
     The 17,500 acre-feet from Bostwick will go down river to Kansas help meet Nebraska's obligations.
     A three-state agreement governs the amount of Republican River water that each can used: Nebraska gets 49 percent, Kansas gets 40 percent and Colorado gets 11 percent.
     Nebraska has overused its compact allocation the past three years, and estimates show the state could be short enough water to cover 200,000 acres of land-more than 300 square miles-with a foot of water.
     A final determination will be made in August. Nebraska will likely be found not in compliance, which could make the state liable for damages to Kansas.
     The district includes 23,000 irrigated acres and about 250 landowners.
    Irrigation district plans to complain about groundwater use
     The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District decided Friday to formally ask regulators upstream to make sure enough stream water reaches Lake McConaughy.
     The district decided to plead its case to the North Platte Natural Resources District and state Department of Natural Resources instead of filing a lawsuit. But Central's board did not rule out a lawsuit if this effort fails.
     Central's General Manager Don Kraus said recent meetings with representatives of the North Platte resources district have been productive, and he hopes those talks will continue.
     In the past Central officials have complained about the lack of restrictions on irrigators in the North Platte Natural Resources District because Central's customers have faced limits on surface water irrigation for several years.
     "Due to ongoing concerns about Lake McConaughy's water supply, our irrigators and recreation interests at the lake, it is time to take action to protect flows into the lake from upstream interference," said Doyle Lavene, a Central board member from Bertrand.
     Central's customers have a surface water irrigation limit of 6.7 inches per acre in 2007. The Pumpkin Creek watershed has limits of 14 inches per acre.