Report on the Platte River Basin, Nebraska Level B Study

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13 CHAPTER 2 - THE BASIN AND ITS RESOURCES Before any planning for the future can proceed it is necessary to understand the Platte River Basin, especially those characteristics for which planning is being accomplished. A main purpose of this chapter, then, is to de- scribe the physical characteristics of the basin. Much of the information was taken from Nebras- ka's State Water Plan Framework Study Report. The present and projected characteristics of the people of the basin — their numbers, theirwork, and their cultural, aesthetic, scientific, and recreational needs — are also important and described here be- cause these either affect or are affected by future management of the basin's land and water re- sources. It is necessary to recognize how laws and administration of policy affect present and future water and related land resources management and to recognize constraints placed upon such man- agement by existing laws and administrative pol- icies. These are described briefly to provide a base for implementation of plans which are recom- mended and to show where existing laws act as constraints to plans that were considered. Physical Characteristics The portion of the Platte River drainage area included in this study extends from the Wyoming - Colorado borders of Nebraska to the mouth of the Platte River where it enters the Missouri River near Plattsmouth. Figure 4 shows the Missouri River drainage area, the Platte River drainage area, and the study area which is the Platte River drainage in Nebraska. The South Platte River heads in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and enters Nebras- ka in Deuel County. The North Platte River also heads in the Colorado Rockies, but flows through Wyoming before entering Nebraska west of Scottsbluff. About 40,760 square miles of the 90,000 square mile total drainage area of the Platte River are in Nebraska. Figure 4 PLATTE BASIN STUDY AREA