Physical History of the Platte River in Nebraska

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By the 1870's, the appropriations granted to these Colorado irrigators exceeded the amount of water available in the river during most summer irrigation seasons (Eschner et al., 1983). This over - appropriation first occurred in the Cache la Poudre basin in 1876. Between 1880 and 1885, the remainder of the South Platte River basin was also over - appropriated. In order to increase irrigation water supplies, many dams were constructed beginning in the early 1880's. These dams did not, however, eliminate the problems of over- appropriation, and thus by 1911 -1912 only canals with appropriation rights of 1882 or older received water during typical June flows. North Platte River Basin In the North Platte River basin, significant irrigation development began in the 1880's with the construction of the first large canals - the Pioneer Canal on the Laramie River in Wyoming and North Platte Canal in Nebraska (Eschner et al., 1983). By 1884, 22 canal companies were in operation along the North Platte River. By 1889, Wyoming ranked third among all western states in irrigated acreage and canal mileage. By 1894, most of the suitable land in the North Platte River basin was being irrigated. Over - appropriation first occurred in the smaller tributaries in the 1880's, which was followed by over - appropriation of the North Platte River in Nebraska. Tabulation of canal construction in the North Platte Basin is also documented in Table 2.1. 'f The first irrigation reservoirs in the North Platte River basin were constructed in 1890. By 1906, 27 small reservoirs were in operation in the basin (Eschner et al., 1983). In 1909, the Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) constructed Pathfinder Reservoir, the first major storage dam on the North Platte River, with a storage capacity 'of 1,045,000 acre- feet. This was followed by a succession of large USBR reservoirs (Guernsey in 1927, Alcova in 1938, Seminoe in 1939, Glendo in 1957). Accompanying the new reservoirs were new canals and additional diversions from existing canals. Between 1901 and 1910, 1391 irrigation canals were constructed. This was followed by 732 new canals between 1911 and 1920, and an additional 249 canals between 1921 and 1930. Central Nebraska Irrigation in central Nebraska started in earnest with the construction of the Kearney Canal in 1882. In the late 1920's and early 1930's, central Nebraska farmers suffered great hardships due to a lack of precipitation and a lack of a dependable water supply and upstream over - appropriation in Colorado and Wyoming. In 1928, the Platte River below North Platte was completely dry for a large portion of the irrigation season. The State of Nebraska ultimately was forced to shut down diversions to irrigators as far upstream as Bridgeport, Nebraska, in an attempt to deliver water to the Kearney Canal, which had a senior water right (G. Hamaker, 1959). According to this report, by mid -July of 1931, the Platte River between North Platte and Columbus was dry for a month. Additional information regarding previous observations of no flow in the Platte River is presented in Section 2.2.3 The lack of a dependable water supply led, in part, to the development of the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District (CNPP &ID) Project and Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) Project to store water Ir