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Water Rights Adjudication Brochure (April 2003)
"Each appropriation shall be determined in its priority and amount by the time at which it is made and the amount of water which the works are constructed to carry. An appropriator shall at no time be entitled to the use of more than he or she can beneficially use for the purposes for which the appropriation has been made…" (§ 46-231)
"There shall be one or more division engineers acting for the Department of Water Resources to administer the public water of the state in the water divisions created by section 46-215. Such a division engineer, acting for the Department of Water Resources, shall have the immediate direction and control of the distribution of water in such manner as shall be directed by the Department." (§ 46-218)
Administration Summary
- North Platte River, South Platte River, Platte River
above the Mouth of the Loup
- Department staff send out regulating notices every spring to all appropriators informing them of the amounts of their appropriations and requiring the appropriator not to take more than the amount of the appropriation. This was initiated by Central Platte Natural Resources District placing a permanent call on the river for protection of their 1990 instream flow appropriations. As allowed under 46-261, acreage reports are required from all appropriators. Appropriators failing to file an acreage report are issued closing notices until such a report is filed. The Department then issues closing and opening notices as required for protection of appropriations. Often the Department has to close appropriations upstream of Gothenburg that are junior to a 1926 irrigation right, and sometimes appropriations are closed for rights dating in the 1800’s.
- Hat Creek and White River Basins
- Water administration occurs in the Hat Creek basin frequently during the summer. In the White River Basin, summer administration is infrequent, not because of sufficient water, but because all the appropriators realize that there is not sufficient water and that making a call on the river would not benefit their appropriation. In the Hat Creek basin, the Department often has administration year round for protection of riparian uses (cattle watering).
- Little Blue, Big Blue, Nemaha River Basins
- The Department has frequent short-term administration in these basins usually on a sub-basin level.
- Platte River below mouth of Loup River, Loup River, Elkhorn River and Salt Creek Basins
- In the fall of 1998, the Department sent letters to appropriators in these basins informing them that they would be regulated in the future because of foreseen shortages that would occur for new downstream appropriators. The downstream appropriators include the Game and Parks Commission’s instream flow appropriations and Metropolitan Utilities District’s induced ground water recharge appropriations. This spring, regulating notices were mailed. This is the first time DWR has had basin wide administration in these basins. In the past, administration occurred on a call basis and was only in subbasin areas for small amounts of time. In these basins there have been lots of closure notices due to illegal diversions.
- Missouri River Tributaries Basins
- Water administration usually consists of investigations on illegal diversions.
- Niobrara River Basin
- Above Mirage Flats Canal, water administration occurs frequently. Below Mirage Flats Canal, shortages occur very infrequently on a sub-basin level.
- Republican River Basin
- Administration occurs on an annual basis. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation requests protection of waters released from reservoirs to the point of diversion, and the irrigation districts request protection of their senior natural flow appropriations. If the storage reservoirs are not storing in the flood pool, then junior appropriations are denied water and releases are protected. If the storage reservoirs are storing in the flood pool, administration does not begin until the reservoirs have dropped to their normal storage capacity. Usually, once administration begins, junior appropriations are denied water for the remaining portion of the season.
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