Lower Republican River Projects

Purpose

Improve water supply during dry periods along the Lower Republican River and convert portions of the remaining open irrigation canal systems to buried pipe system within the Kansas Bostwick Irrigation District.

History

On February 24, 2015, in the case of Kansas v. Nebraska No. 126 Original, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of Kansas in the dispute over the states’ rights to the waters of the Republican River Basin. The Court ruled Nebraska had “knowingly failed” to comply with the Republican River Compact and awarded Kansas $5.5 million for its losses. The 2015 Legislature then introduced Senate Bill 112 Section 178, which designates where all moneys recovered by the state of Kansas shall be deposited. Of the $5.5 million, $2 million was received by the Attorney General for the interstate water litigation fund. The remaining $3.5 million is credited to the Republican River Water Conservation Projects-Nebraska Moneys Fund for water improvement projects in the Republican River Basin.

Timeline

• 2010: Kansas filed suit in the U.S. Supreme Court
  • In the dry periods in 2005-2006, Nebraska overused its Compact-allotted share of the Republican River and Kansas water users were harmed
• February 24, 2015: the Supreme Court ruled in favor of KS
  • The Court ruled NE had “knowingly failed” to comply with the Compact and awarded KS $5.5 million for its losses
  • Of the $5.5 million, $2 million went to the Attorney General for the interstate water litigation fund. The remaining $3.5 million will be for water improvement projects in the Republican River Basin

Current Updates

March 2017, KBID completed the 33.0 Lateral Canal and Sub-laterals portion of their project to convert open irrigation canals to a buried pipe system.

April 2017, BCMD submitted the final report on the Reservoir Feasibility Study for Water Supply Reservoirs in Kansas

July 2017, KGS submitted the final report on Evaluating Alternatives to Increase the Water Available to Water Rights in the Lower Republican River Basin Scenarios.

March 2018, KBID completed the 32.1 Lateral Canal portion.

May 2019, KBID completed the 31.1 Lateral portion.

April 2020, KBID completed the Ridge 2.6 Right Lateral portion.

Funding

The stakeholder group representing multiple interests within the Lower Republican came to consensus that $2.5 million of the original $3.5 million from the Republican River Water Conservation Projects-Nebraska Moneys Fund should be used for projects within the Kansas Bostwick Irrigation District (KBID) and $1 million should be used for projects which are not part of the KBID system.

Project Manager

Katie Goff

Interactive Map

To learn the history of the Lower Republican River Compact and the reason for entering into the Reservoir Feasibility Study, visit the interactive map.

The map explains the history of the compact, contains interactive maps to show the area involved, and shows why the Republican River is so important to Kansas.

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