Agriculture
Use of the water from the Republican River is governed by a 1943 compact between Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. Colorado was allotted 11 percent of the water, while Kansas was allotted 40 percent and Nebraska 49 percent. Kansas filed a lawsuit against Nebraska with the U.S. Supreme Court in 1998, accusing Nebraska of using more than its share. A settlement was reached in 2003 but Kansas officials are contending that during 2005 and 2006 Nebraska used 25.7 billion gallons more than its share. (That's enough water to supply a city of 100,000 people for ten years.)While Nebraska has been in compliance from 2007 to 2009, arbiters want Nebraska to stop irrigating 500,000 acres. Kansas also wants to be compensated for those years Nebraska was out of compliance. Kansas has calculated the compensation should be around $72 million dollars. Kansas is taking the dispute back to the U.S. Supreme Court and both states are currently waiting to hear if the Supreme Court will hear the case. Meanwhile, the Republican River Sustainability Task Force is developing plans to achieve water sustainability.
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