Public hearing set for proposed irrigation allocations

A hearing has been set for Sept. 15 by the South Platte Natural Resources District to hear public testimony for the proposed irrigation allocations.

The SPNRD board took action during its meeting earlier this month to set preliminary numbers for each subarea in the district for the next allocation period that runs from 2016 through 2018. The district re-evaluates the irrigation allocations in each subarea every three years.

Ground Water Advisory Committee meetings were held in Kimball, Sidney and Big Springs prior to the board meeting to give the public a chance to see and comment on information that has been provided to the board over the past several months by Thad Kuntz, principal hydrogeologist from Adaptive Resources, using the Western Water Use Management Model.

That is an analysis model using available data to help predict what the cumulative effects of irrigation may be to the Ogallala Aquifer, the Lodgepole Creek and the South Platte River Basin.

Using the analysis along with the Spring 2015 Ground Water Level report and the 2014 Water Usage report, the board proposed the following preliminary allocation ranges for each subarea:

A – Wyoming State Line to Oliver Reservoir, 36-42 inches

B – Oliver Reservoir to Buffalo Bend, 36-42 inches

C – Buffalo Bend to Sidney, 36-42 inches

D – Sidney to Colorado State Line, 42-48 inches

E – South Platte Valley, 48-54 inches

F – Tablelands, 36-42 inches

The public hearing will be held on Tuesday, September 15, 2015 at 6:30 p.m., or 30 minutes following the end of a public information session, whichever is later, at the Cheyenne County 4-H Building, 10955 U.S. Highway 30, Sidney.

An information session similar to those at the Ground Water Advisory Committee meetings will precede the public hearing at 5 p.m. at the Cheyenne County 4-H Building.

For more information about the proposed irrigation allocations for the upcoming 2016-’18 allocation period, contact the South Platte Natural Resources District office at (308) 254-2377, stop by the office at 551 Parkland Drive, Sidney, or visit http://www.spnrd.org.