The Superior Express -

The Little Blue Natural Resources District (LBNRD) distributes a newsletter quarterly to all residents in the district. The Spring 2023 issue just came out and it contained some interesting information.

The first page of the publication gave information about the 2023 Spring Static Water Levels. The essence of the information was that if 2023 “drought” conditions continue, the possibility of groundwater allocations are very real.

The introduction included the following information: “This spring the water levels were completed in the month of April. The map shows a large majority of the district with declines. Geologic Area 1 was down a negative 1.43 feet on average. Some of the hardest hit towns were Kenesaw, Deweese, Ong, Oak, Carleton, Belvidere, the areas between Hastings, Roseland and Blue Hill.”

It noted that the present groundwater level weighted average is sitting 2.01 feet above the trigger levels. That is to say if the level drops another 2.01 feet, the LBNRD Board of Directors will immediately put a stay on expanding acres and installing high-capacity wells.

The majority of the land in the LBNRD is included in what is called Geologic Area 1. However a strip of land in the southeast part of the NRD is identified as Geologic Area 2.

A small area of the district located on the Nebraska-Kansas boarder between Chester and Hardy showed a small rise in the groundwater level.

The LBNRD did not try to predict what the year would be like, but they did note that annual rainfall amounts of 24.25 to 30.23 inches leaves the water table fluctuating between declines and rises of one foot. Less rainfall seems to be a predictable decline while more than 32 inches results in a rise.

From the maps printed in their report, it seems the NRD has been recording groundwater levels since 1974. The largest decline happened about six or seven years ago when the level dropped almost eight feet below the 1974 level. It presently is at six feet below the 1974 level.

The current drought seems to be bring back memories of the 1930s. In 1934 much of Nebraska averaged less than ten inches of rain, while the eastern side of Nebraska averaged closer to 17 inches of rain.

Rainfall totals from January 1, 2023 to June 12, 2023 from the LBNRD show the following amounts.

Lawrence 9.5”, Hastings 8.5”, Blue Hill 7.6”, Deweese 6.9”, Hardy 6.7”, Nelson 5.7” and Oak 3.5”. It is possible some rainfall reports did not get reported at all locations.