ALMA — Farmers in the Lower Republican Natural Resources District, anxious to learn how much irrigation water they will be allowed to pump this summer so they can make cropping decisions, will have to wait a few more weeks for the answer.
Meeting Thursday in Alma, the LRNRD board of directors took another step toward trying to head off the need for additional restrictions on irrigators in 2013.
At this point in time, however, the board is not in a position to guarantee such restrictions will not ultimately be necessary, officials said.
And if such restrictions did come to pass, they most likely would begin with a cap of 6.5-6.8 inches of water per certified acre from wells within the district's Rapid Response Area, said Mike Clements, the NRD general manager.
The board also would have to decide if, because the Rapid Response Area irrigators were being further restricted, irrigators districtwide should have a cap placed on how much water they can use during the year — the first in a new five-year allocation period.
To read more, see Friday's Hastings Tribune or the Tribune e-edition.>>>
