Water Current, Volume 34, No. 5. October 2002
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University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Water Current Newsletter Water Center, The October 2002 Water Current, Volume 34, No. 5. October 2002 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/water_currentnews Part of the Water Resource Management Commons "Water Current, Volume 34, No. 5. October 2002" (2002). Water Current Newsletter. 19. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/water_currentnews/19 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Water Center, The at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Water Current Newsletter by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Special Issue WATER CURRENT VOL. 34, NO. 5UNL WATER CENTER OCTOBER 2002 Fall NSIA/NWRA Convention Focuses on “Changing Times / Changing Attitudes” he UNL Water Center has joined with the Nebraska moderates a “Water Policy Issues Form that will feature TWater Resources Association (NWRA) and State Senator Ed Schrock and Nebraska Department of Nebraska State Irrigation Association (NSIA) in spon- Natural Resources director Roger Patterson. Dave soring next month’s annual NSIA/NWRA convention. Cookson of the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office will “Changing Times/Changing Attitudes” is at North also update those attending on state water litigation. Platte’s Sandhills Convention Center , Sunday, Nov. 24 Congressman Tom Osborne is slated to be Tuesday’s through Tuesday, Nov. 26. A registration mailing has luncheon speaker. been sent to NWRA and NSIA members, along with The convention adjourns after an early afternoon those on the Water Center’s Water Current mailing list. If NWRA board of director’s meeting. you did not receive this mailing, contact the NSIA in Lincoln at (402)476-0162 or the Water Center at (402)472-3305. 100 Years of Reclamation Invited keynote speaker is John Keyes, Commissioner of Reclamation, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Several con- vention topics will focus on the Bureau’s 100th anniver- sary (see a summary of Bureau projects in Nebraska and eastern Wyoming elsewhere in this issue). A “Reclama- tion Projects Panel” moderated by Fred Ore, general manage of the Bureau’s Kansas-Nebraska office, kicks-off convention topics at 9 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 25. Senator Don Pederson is Monday’s luncheon speaker; Ernie Niemi, Vice President of ECONorthwest, speaks early Monday afternoon; and Lower Platte South NRD general manager Glen Johnson will moderate a Plains farmers survey their land in western Nebraska, probably “Municipal-Industrial Panel.” in the teens or 1920’s. Exact date unknown U.S. Bureau of General sessions resume on Tuesday with “Natural Reclamation projects to “reclaim” the arid western lands and Resources District Panel, moderated by Nebraska control flooding were in large measure responsible for Nebraska’s agricultural successes. As the Bureau of Reclamation Association of Resources Districts general manager celebrates its Centennial this year, look inside this issue for the Dean Edson. history and details of the projects it built in Nebraska and Later that morning, Tim Anderson of Central eastern Wyoming. (USBR photo). Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District (continued on page 13) INSIDE 3 ................ Meet the Faculty 14 .............. Water News Briefs 4 ................ Guest Column 15 .............. Calendar 5 - 11 ........ SPECIAL BUREAU OF RECLAMATION 16 .............. Bottled Water or Tap? CENTENNIAL COVERAGE PROTECTING NEBRASKA’S WATER RESOURCES THROUGH RESEARCH AND EDUCATION Celebrating 100 Years of Reclamation harvests. “Rainfall follows the enthusiastically signed by plow,” was said to explain the President Roosevelt. Construction successes of early homesteaders. of several reclamation projects With a return to normal began shortly afterward. One of rom the precipitation patterns, that theory the first was the North Platte f was soon discredited. Project, located in eastern During the 1880s and 1890s Wyoming and in the panhandle of farmers in the Platte, Frenchman western Nebraska. DIRECTOR and Niobrara river valleys Since completion of that project, recognized the true climatic Nebraska has benefited from environment in which they lived, construction of many other and they began building a network reclamation projects. Elsewhere in of irrigation canals. Before long this issue of Water Current, each they realized their cumulative project is discussed and depicted demand for water often exceeded on a map. the magnitude of river flows. This year marks the centennial During July and August, when year for passage of the crop water requirements are Reclamation Act. In effect it’s the greatest, irrigators recalled the un- 100th birthday for the U.S. Bureau diverted river flows that had of Reclamation. A national passed their canal headgates the birthday party was held at Hoover J. Michael Jess previous spring. Dam earlier this year. An obvious solution was to Locally, Nebraska’s celebration n 1820 Major Stephen H. Long construct upstream reservoirs to is planned for North Platte. The Iled an exploration party across impound springtime runoff. Water program for a joint meeting of the Nebraska to the Rocky Mountains. held in storage upstream could Nebraska State Irrigation Based upon his observations, he later be released to supplement Association, the Nebraska Water concluded the land he saw was meager summer time river flows. Resources Association and the “uninhabitable by a people That obvious solution became Nebraska Water Conference depending on agriculture.” As the political objective for Council will highlight reclamation Americans headed west several Nebraskans and others promoting activities and projects in our state. decades later, Long’s sentiment arid land reclamation across the Watch for the registration disappeared. Following the Civil west. Their efforts finally paid off announcement and please join War, cheap land and a coincidental with passage of Rep. Francis those making plans to attend the period of above normal Newlands’ (D-Nev.) Reclamation November 25 and 26 festivities in precipitation resulted in abundant Act. On June 17, 1902, the bill was North Platte. WATER CURRENT Water Center Kyle D. Hoagland - Director This newsletter is published with University of Nebraska-Lincoln J. Michael Jess - Acting Director partial financial support from the 103 Natural Resources Hall and Water Specialist Department of the Interior; Lincoln, NE 68583-0844 U.S. Geological Survey. The content Mark S. Kuzila - Director, Phone: (402) 472-3305 does not necessarily reflect the views Water Sciences Laboratory Fax: (402) 472-3574 and policies of the Department of the E-mail: [email protected] Steven W. Ress - Editor Interior, nor does mention of trade Patricia A. Liedle - Editorial Assistant names or commercial products http://watercenter.unl.edu Anne M. Moore - UNL CIT, constitute endorsement by the Layout and Design U.S. Government. PAGE 2 WATER CURRENT OCTOBER 2002 Meet the Faculty Dr. Joe Szilagyi M.S. in Hydrology, University of of surface waters. New Hampshire, 1994. — Developing new methods for Hydrologist and research assistant B.S. in Meteorology, Eotvos Univer- baseflow separation. professor, Conservation and Survey sity, Budapest, Hungary, 1989. — Applying GIS technology to Division, Institute of Agriculture water management issues. and Natural Resources, University Samples of Current Research: Samples of Current Projects: of Nebraska-Lincoln. — Mapping statewide long-term evaporation, baseflow and recharge — Modeling capture zones in well- Education: to groundwater in Nebraska. head protection areas (Nebraska Ph.D. in Hydrologic Science, Uni- — Detecting an intensification of the Department of Environmental versity of California-Davis, 1997. global hydrologic cycle as a result Quality), 2000. of climate change. — Update and revision of regional — Investigating the long-term 1x2 degree watertable configu- regional water balance of the ration maps for the State of Republican River valley. Nebraska (NDEQ), 2000. — Validating a new analytical solu- tion of the Boussinesq equation Samples of Current Extension and for describing seepage of ground- Outreach Programming: water to open channels. — Assisting the involved parties in — Applying vegetation indices for the Rainwater Basin study. areal evaporation estimations. — Assisting Natural Resource — Building a semi-distributed District personnel in wter man- watershed model in aiding live- agement issues. stock management with regard to Cryptosporidium contamination (continued on page 12) Joe Szilagyi C. Dean Yonts Education: — Member of team to develop chicory as a new crop in the Irrigation Engineer and Associate M.S. in Ag Engineering, University of United States. Professor of Biological Systems Wyoming, 1978. Engineering Department, Univer- B.S. in Ag Engineering, University of Samples of Current Extension sity of Nebraska-Lincoln (since Wyoming, 1974. Programming: 1980). Located at the UNL Pan- handle Research and Extension Samples of Current Research: — Editor of Irrigators News Line, Center, Scottsbluff, NE. distributed to the North Platte — Current research and extension pro- Valley irrigators. grams focus on improving water — Coordinator for annual North management techniques to con- Platte River Basin Water Policy serve water and maintain water Conference. quality for both surface and ground- — State coordinator for annual water sources. Specific research Central Plains Irrigation Short projects include