The North Platte Natural Resources District (NRD) hosted a meeting with representatives of the surface water irrigation districts and canal companies on Tuesday, August 18th. This meeting was a work session and follow-up meeting to the surface water summit that was held earlier this year.

"Surface water irrigation is vitally important to our valley and the shared interest between our surface water irrigators and our groundwater irrigators far outweighs any division. This meeting, focused on our shared interests of utilization of excess flows, better management of drains, and potential projects to reduce consumptive use is a crucial next step in forging partnerships with these folks," said John Berge General Manager of the NRD.

Mr. Berge reminded attendees that the District would like to establish drain committees to help with maintenance and management of the numerous drains in the District. The need was brought to light by the Brown's Canyon incident, and Berge would like to have committees in place to ensure these drains are properly maintained and repairs made when they are needed. He hoped to use current maintenance committees as templates to build upon.

Scott Schaneman, Water Resources Coordinator, explained the District's land retirement program. The NRD's water retirement program is designed to help the meet its obligation under its Integrated Management Plan (IMP) and is voluntary. He reiterated that the District wants to maintain every irrigation district's and canal company's historic diversions for their users. Berge also described two new programs the District has developed: the 10/30 and the Encouraging Producer Innovation through Conservation (EPIC) programs. The 10/30 program is a short term water leasing program and EPIC is a program designed to encourage landowners to stay in or enroll into federal conservation programs.

Earlier this summer, the NRD sent out draft language too all the surface water districts/canal companies for an agreement to provide recharge opportunities during times when there are excess flows in the North Platte River. Berge reminded attendees that the reservoirs in Wyoming have 700,000 acre feet of storage left, and an average runoff for a year is 1 million acre feet. By having a permanent agreement in place to divert these excess flows through the surface water canals, the District can provide recharge for ground water users, and help meet its obligation under its Integrated Management Plan.

Lydia Hanson, GIS Analysis, gave an update on the mapping opportunities the District has for surface water districts. The NRD can help provide large maps and potentially create a mapping application that could be used in their operations. Berge also talked about the flow meter requirements in the full appropriated portion of the District and the telemetry program.

For more information about the Summit or any of the North Platte NRD's programs, go to www.npnrd.org or contact the office at (308) 632-2749.