Nebraska Bird Partnership

At a time when large portions of the state are under water due to flooding on its rivers, the governor was in McCook on Wednesday for the first meeting of the Republican River Basin Water Sustainability Task Force, whose goal is to find ways to manage the Basin during dry years.  "I've said all along that water will be the issue of the decade for Nebraska," Heineman said. "I'm hoping we can find common ground and come to a consensus, and I will admit to the irony of flooding and talking about the sustainability of water."

The task force is the result of legislation proposed by state Senator Tom Carlson of Holdrege and approved by the Nebraska Legislature in April. Made up of 22 voting members appointed by the governor and four non-voting members from the Legislature, the task force's challenge is to define exactly what water sustainability is in the Republican River Basin and then come up with a plan to get to that point.

Compliance with the Republican River Compact is the short-term goal, the Governor said, and ensuring the economic viability of the region is the long-term objective. The compact requires Nebraska to send a certain amount of water to Kansas every year.

Read more about the Republican River Task Force from the North Platte Telegraph.