Lower Platte North NRD Well Moratorium
The Lower Platte North NRD Board of Directors voted on May 12, 2008 to declare a permanent well moratorium for portions of Butler and Saunders Counties. The moratorium prohibits drilling of any new high-capacity wells (more than 50 gallons per minute) and any expansion of irrigated acres served by existing wells. The moratorium covers parts of the Uplands aquifer area, which includes central Butler County and western and northeastern portions of Saunders County.
The stay on new wells and expansion of irrigated acres followed a year-long study of the Uplands aquifer region. The NRD declared the moratorium due to concerns about declining water levels in some parts of the aquifer. The region is geologically complex, with some subaquifers only a few square miles in size, so once the study was completed, some sections that were included in an original temporary moratorium were removed and others were added to the final moratorium area.
“No one enjoys a moratorium, but we felt it was the right thing to do,” said Larry Angle, Water Resources Manager for the NRD. “The glacial till areas of the Uplands aquifer are fragile, and we need to be sure we’re protecting that water supply both for current users and for the future.”
The district is not planning similar moratoriums for other areas of the district, according to General Manager John Miyoshi.
“The Uplands moratorium focuses on specific areas where groundwater levels have experienced signficant declines. We don’t see a need for moratoriums in other parts of the district for the foreseeable future,” Miyoshi said.
For more information, contact Larry Angle, Water Resources Manager.