Nebraska: Beacon Of Good Water Policy?

Is Nebraska a model for sensible water regulation?

"With ongoing summer droughts in many states across the country, water scarcity continues to be a threat, [which is shifting] water regulation policies in some states to focus on more local management plans like Nebraska has," Nebraska News Service recently reported.

Nebraska regulates water at a local level through Natural Resources Districts (NRDs). It has 23 NRDs.

"The NRDs are divided by river basin boundaries and have legal authority to create water regulation policies within each district. Nebraska's system is unique compared to other states because of the way boundaries are drawn and the significant legal authority NRDs are given, said Dean Edson, executive director of the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts," the report said.

This approach makes Nebraska different from many other areas of the country.

"Many other states have water laws controlled at the state level or are beginning to change their water laws in response to increasing concerns. A number of factors can affect water regulation in a state, such as number of irrigated acres, population size and how much water the state has," the report said.

Dave Aiken, University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor and water law specialist, explained the differences between Nebraska and other states.

"When you look at the states that actually have the groundwater, they all have less regulation than the states where the groundwater is really scarce," he said. "And so the states where it is really scarce, they regulate the most, because it is so scarce."

Another dividing line: western states tends to regulate differently than eastern states.

"In the eastern U.S., most states follow a riparian rights system, which allows only those who border streams or water basins to use the water from that source. In certain cases these water users can divert the stream flow if it doesn't harm anyone else and the use is reasonable. During times of water shortage, lawsuits often arise over whose water use is reasonable and whose is unreasonable," the report said.

In California, some experts say policies are so muddled that they exacerbate the effects of the drought.

But like anywhere else, Nebraska faces plenty of challenges when it comes to water.

Nebraska has reported $1.8 billion in drinking water infrastructure needs over the next two decades, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. It has reported $3.2 billion in wastewater infrastructure needs over the same period.

And no state is immune to the the big challenges, including climate change.

A new report from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln shows that "changes noted globally are reflected in Nebraska, which has experienced an overall warming of about 1°F since 1895," according to a recent university announcement.

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