Kansas makes water demands on Nebraska

12/19/2007

Source: Sahra News
- summary by Louise Shaler
Source: Yahoo News by John Hanna

Kansas - Kansas has threatened to take Nebraska to court unless the state reduces the amount of water it takes from the Republican River and pays a yet-undetermined amount for allegedly taking too much water in the past. Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison and the Division of Water Resources alleged that Nebraska's water use exceeded its official allocation for 2005 and 2006 by about 27 billion gallons. Water use from the river is governed by a 1943 treaty and a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on a settlement among Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado. One Nebraska official said that if Kansas' demand is met, it would mean shutting down wells irrigating about 500,000 acres in Nebraska's portion of the Republican River Basin.