I WORKSHOP INTERNACIONAL: PESQUISA CIENTÍFICA PARA POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS DE GESTÃO SUSTENTÁVEL DOS RECURSOS HÍDRICOS: Os exemplos do Nebraska, USA e do Oeste da Bahia, Brasil AUDITÓRIO ASSEMBLEIA LEGISLATIVA - SALVADOR, BAHIA

1. Jesse Bradley, Nebraska Department of Natural Resources
Assistant Director
Water Resources
and Management
within Nebraska

2. Nebraska Department of
Natural Resources
Governor
Pete Ricketts
Fassett
Director Support
Communications
Process Improvements
Legal & Legislative
Assistant DirectorAssistant Director
Engineering &
Technical
Services
Special
Projects
H.R. & Finance
Information
Technology
Water
Administration
Permits &
Registration
Water
Planning

3. Outline
o General Overview of Nebraska Hydrology
o Science Used to Support Water Planning
(Modeling & INSIGHT)
o Water Planning, Basin-Scale and NRD Scale

4. o ~77,000 square
miles
o 93 Counties
o ~ 1.9 million
people
o 2nd largest
ethanol
producing state
o 3rd largest corn
producing state
o Beef production
is the largest
agriculture sector
(cattle outnumber
people by more
than 3 to 1)
Nebraska Overview

5. Nation-wide Irrigated Agricultural Lands

6. Regional High Plains Aquifer

7. Nebraska Precipitation Distribution

8. Nebraska Topography Distribution

9. Nebraska Groundwater Development
~100,000 irrigation wells
~7.5 – 8.0 million groundwater irrigated acres

10. Nebraska Surface Water Development
~6,500 irrigation appropriations
~0.5 – 1.0 million surface water irrigated acres

11. Water Supply Variability
Harlan County Dam, NELake McConaughy, NE
Merritt Reservoir, NE Seminoe Reservoir, WY

12. Water Demands
Groundwater Demands by
Category
Surface Water Demands
by Category
*Thermoelectric is not included

13. Science and Modeling

14. GW Model Areas

15. Models and Data
• Water Supplies
✓ Basin water supplies
✓ Groundwater depletions
✓ Surface water depletions
✓ Streamflow
• Water Uses/Demands
✓ Meter data
✓ Diversion records
✓ Climate data
✓ CROPSIM outputs
✓ Water administration data
✓ Land use data
✓ And more…

16. INSIGHT

17. Water Planning –
Interstate, Basin, and Local Scale

18. Agencies Involved In Water Management

19. Natural Resources District Boundaries

20. Interstate Compact Areas

21. Basin-wide Plan Areas

22. Integrated Management Plan Areas

23. Stakeholder Input Process
Stakeholders NRDs & NeDNR
Stakeholders
Groundwater Users
- Ag., Industry, M&I
Surface Water Users
- Ag., Industry, M&I
County Planners
Banking
Municipalities
Other Agencies
USBR
National Park Service
State Agencies
University

24. Integrated Management Plan Development
General Goals:
o Protect existing uses from negative
impacts of new uses
o Meet Interstate compliance obligation
o Ensure the appropriate long-term
balance of water supplies and
uses to:
▪ Protect economic viability
▪ Social and environmental health
▪ Safety
▪ Overall welfare of the basin

25. Jesse.Bradley@nebraska.gov