U.S. Water News Online
KEARNEY, Neb. -- Delegates of the Nebraska Farm Bureau have approved resolutions supporting meters on irrigation wells and a temporary moratorium on new wells in times of water shortage where groundwater and surface water use could be connected.
Several natural resources districts in the state have imposed moratoriums on new wells because of a severe drought in Nebraska. Some districts also have put meters on wells to monitor groundwater use.
State officials are looking at the relationship between groundwater and surface water in hopes of coordinating policies and procedures in governing both.
About 150 voting Farm Bureau delegates endorsed that approach, saying the state needs a clearer definition of what makes groundwater and surface water ``hydrologically connected,'' said Rob Robertson, Farm Bureau vice president for governmental relations.
``This policy puts Farm Bureau in a position to help find common ground in dealing with conflicts in areas where the two are interrelated,'' Robertson said.
About 450 members of the Farm Bureau, many of them farmers and ranchers, met at the organization's state convention.
Delegates also said if tax reforms or increases are needed to balance the state budget they need to be broad-based as opposed to targeting certain sectors, such as agriculture.
If budget cuts are needed, Robertson said, state aid to education should be protected to the last because any reduction there could lead to local property tax increases.
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