NEBRASKA WATER
What is the right thing to do?
Roric Paulman
January 2016
Managing Nebraska Waters
Nebraska Department
of Natural Resources (NDNR)
• Manage surface water
• Integrated Management Plans
(surface and ground water interaction)
Natural Resource Districts (NRD)
• Manage ground water
• Each district uses different tools:
Drilling moratorium - no new wells
Certify irrigated acres
Flow Meters – measure inches pumped
Allocations – limit inches pumped
Water banking – retire irrigated acres
N-CORPE – pump water into stream
J-2 Reservoirs – retime river flow
NEWBA “Grass Roots” Approach
Accelerated widespread
adoption of winning ideas
Peer to Peer sharing
R&D
Test plots
Demonstration
/ Publications
“Real Life”
demonstration
Promising,
Practical
Idea
Problem
Legislation
Regulations
Widespread
adoption
Implementation
Traditional Research
Approach
Traditional Legislative
Approach
NEWBA Initiatives
1. Protect water and the rural economy through better
understanding of water realities.
2. Pilot a grower-led, on-farm demonstration project to
test promising water saving strategies.
3. Host annual Water Summits and Grower Symposiums
to promote improved water management.
4. Facilitate Urban-Ag Round Table discussions to
encourage state-wide sustainability efforts.
Perkins County management study
NEWBA Initiative
#1
Protect water
and the rural
economy
through better
understanding
of water
realities.
Perkins County 2005 Consumption
Land use type
Acres
Barren
Dryland Alfalfa
Dryland Corn
Dryland Dry Edible Beans
Dryland Small Grains
Dryland Sorghum
Dryland Soybeans
Dryland Sunflower
Irrigated Alfalfa
Irrigated Corn
Irrigated Dry Edible Beans
Irrigated Potatoes
Irrigated Small Grains
Irrigated Sorghum (Milo, Sudan)
Irrigated Soybeans
Irrigated Sugar Beets
Irrigated Sunflower
Open Water
Other Agricultural Land
Range, Pasture, Grass
Riparian Forest and Woodlands
Roads
Summer Fallow
Urban Land
Wetlands
Significant (Top 5)
Total
757
12,568
29,991
8,366
76,432
799
839
6,807
6,939
102,124
8,820
589
5,607
1,834
8,501
1,911
2,737
100
477
305,519
1,182
797
93,441
1,067
2,315
607,507
680,518
Consumption/acre
Annual
(Annual Inches)
Consumption (AF)
19.0
1,199
19.6
20,528
17.8
44,487
16.0
11,155
15.2
96,814
17.5
1,165
16.6
1,161
16.7
9,473
45.0
26,021
29.5
251,055
23.0
16,905
29.0
1,423
27.2
12,709
30.0
4,585
27.9
19,765
33.3
5,303
23.9
5,451
48.0
400
16.6
660
19.2
488,830
54.6
5,378
19.0
1,262
15.1
117,580
19.7
1,751
57.0
10,994
998,766
na
1,156,053
CRP land is included in range, pasture and grass lands. 343217 (AF) or 29% is irrigated portion of total
NEWBA Initiative
#1
Protect water
and the rural
economy
through better
understanding
of water
realities.
There has to be a better way!
55,000
total pivots
in NE
5,385,460 acre-feet
center pivot water in 2008
In Nebraska
97.9 acre-feet
per center pivot
(1175 acre inches)
Annual Savings
430,837 acre-feet
8% savings with VRI and probes
(140,388,852,000 gallons)
Source: Bill Marek, CropMetrics, 2013
NEWBA Initiative
#1
Protect water
and the rural
economy
through better
understanding
of water
realities.
Small savings = Big impact!
In 2013 the City of Lincoln used
40,170 acre-feet of water
Annual Savings
430,837 acre-feet
(140,388,852,000 gallons)
8% groundwater
savings = a 10 year
supply for Lincoln
NEWBA Initiative
#2
Pilot a growerled, on-farm
demonstration
project to test
promising
water saving
strategies.
PAULMAN
FARMS
Water for Generations Project
NEWBA
Project
Identify promising
technologies, strategies
Explore practical workability
and acceptance
Share results to increase
awareness, adoption
Spread winning solutions
to many producers
Quantify watershed impact.
Confirm economic benefits.
PRODUCTION
Weather
Stations
Field
Sensors
Equipment
Tools
Scouting
Devices
ON-SITE
MONITORING
PRODUCTION
Weather
Stations
OFF-SITE
MONITORING
Field
Sensors
Weat
her
Soil
Imag
ery
Equipment
Tools
Field
Data/Alerts
Precision
Agriculture
Applications
Scouting
Devices
ON-SITE
MONITORING
Crop
OFF-SITE
Pest MODELING
Water
PRODUCTION
Weather
Stations
OFF-SITE
MONITORING
Invent
ory
Field
Sensors
Weat
her
Soil
Imag
ery
Sale
s
Back
Office
Equipment
Tools
Scouting
Devices
ON-SITE
MONITORING
Field
Precision
Data/Alerts
Agriculture
Applications
Crop
OFF-SITE
Pest MODELING
Water
Management
Consulta
Decisions
nt
Grower
Regula
tory
Reporti
ng
PRODUCTION
Weather
Stations
Field
Sensors
OFF-SITE
MONITORING
Invent
ory
Weat
her
Soil
Imag
ery
Sale
s
Back
Office
Equipment
Tools
ON-SITE
MONITORING
Scouting
Devices
Field
Precision
Data/Alerts
Agriculture
Applications
Crop
OFF-SITE
Pest MODELING
Water
Management
Decisions
Consult
ant
Grower
Regula
tory
Reporti
ng
Traceab
ility
MARKETING
Processor/S
hipping
Buy
er
Consum
NEWBA Initiative
Building on what NEWBA began:
#2
Pilot a growerled, on-farm
demonstration
project to test
promising
water saving
strategies.
How this is
making a
difference:
Western NE Irrigation Project
•
•
•
•
Modeled after the NEWBA project
32 pivots, 4100 acres
Gets technology and training to producers
Expands conservation tillage and variable
rate irrigation
• Monitors changes in groundwater table
NEWBA Initiative
#2
Pilot a growerled, on-farm
demonstration
project to test
promising
water saving
strategies.
How this is
making a
difference:
Building on what NEWBA began:
NEWBA Initiative
Building on what NEWBA began:
#2
Pilot a growerled, on-farm
demonstration
project to test
promising
water saving
strategies.
How this is
making a
difference:
Central Nebraska grower group
• Interested in adopting the NEWBA model
• 51 producers
• 186,000 acres
NEWBA Initiative
Building on what NEWBA began:
#2
Pilot a growerled, on-farm
demonstration
project to test
promising
water saving
strategies.
How this is
making a
difference:
Industry is rapidly moving to
integrate real time data onto
user friendly dashboards
NEWBA Initiative
Building on what NEWBA began:
#2
Pilot a growerled, on-farm
demonstration
project to test
promising
water saving
strategies.
How this is
making a
difference:
University of Nebraska seeking
closer alliance with NEWBA:
• Hiring irrigation extension specialists
• Joint project with WCREC
• Partnering on grant applications
Grower Symposiums
NEWBA Initiative
#3
Host annual
Water Summits
and Grower
Symposiums to
promote
improved water
management.
Grower to Grower sharing
Water Summits
NEWBA Initiative
#3
Host annual
Water Summits
and Grower
Symposiums to
promote
improved water
management.
Sharing what
we are learning
NEWBA Initiative
#3
Host annual
Water Summits
and Grower
Symposiums to
promote
improved water
management.
Real Farmers, Real Experience
Field Day August 2015
200+ attendees
NRD Panel
Farmer Panel
NEWBA Initiative
#3
Soil Moisture Probe Workshop
Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture
February 2015
Host annual
Water Summits
and Grower
Symposiums to
promote
improved water
management.
Practical info for
producers, students
NEWBA Initiative
Finding Common Ground
#4
Facilitate
Urban-Ag
Round Table
discussions to
encourage
state-wide
sustainability
efforts.
The goal of Round Tables
held in York, Lincoln,
Plattsmouth:
•
•
Learn from each other
Build mutual water
management policies and
practices
The NEWBA Difference
REGULATION
Surface Water
IMP
OPERATION
Manage irritation to
ensure profitability
RECOGNITION
NDNR
Ground Water
NEWBA’s Focus
NRDs
Regulator’s Focus:
Compliance
Aggregate impacts
Ensure quantity and
quality needed for
municipal/industrial use
User’s Focus:
Long-Term Viability
The NEWBA Difference
EMERGING
TECHNOLOGIES
EDUCATION/
EXTENSION
COOPERATIVE
OUTREACH
NEBRASKA WATER
What is the right thing to do?
www.nebraskawaterbalance.com