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A Brief History of the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District - An "unusual suggestion" for supplemental irrigation was proposed in 1913 by C.W. McConaughy, who was a grain merchant and the mayor of Holdrege. McConaughy's vision for the future of south-central Nebraska, which would eventually result in the creation of the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District, proposed that water be diverted from the Platte River during the flood stage in the spring and fall to supplement annual rainfall. Farmers would soak the soil and their crops could draw on the water stored in the ground during the growing season. To advance his proposal, McConaughy formed the Tri-County Supplemental Water Association in 1913. A storage reservoir was not included in the original plans because the water would come directly from the river only during the spring and fall. From those relatively simple beginnings, the project eventually developed into a full-scale irrigation project with storage water supplied from Lake McConaughy. As late as 1925, the emphasis of irrigation supporters was still supplemental irrigation, but the production of hydropower was.developing as a factor to be considered in any irrigation project. Such production required a full-scale irrigation project with application of water to crops throughout the growing season. _ Plans for what became known as the "Tri-County Project" were drawn and the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District was created in July, 1933. However,the project almost died in early 1934 when the Public Works Administration decided to reject the application to fund the project. Before making a final decision, two PWA engineers visited the state to review the project. Upon returning to Washington, they suggested that "Tri- County" officials revise their plans to include a dam on the North Platte River near the town of Keystone rather than dams to impound two Plum Creek reservoirs south of Lexington. PWA officials postponed a decision on the project while the application was revised. In the meantime,the funds allotted for PWA'projects were exhausted and project supporters were forced to wait another year. Another application was submitted to the PWA in 1935 and U.S. Senator George Norris of McCook(who had _ first introduced a bill in the Senate in 1925 to construct the project) personally met with President Franklin Roosevelt and Secretary of Interior Harold Ickes to urge approval of the project. Sen. Norris wielded considerable influence in Washington and his support of the Tri-County Project was a significant factor in its eventual approval. Tri-County's latest application had reverted to the Plum Creek reservoir sites and it was this plan that was finally approved on Sept. 18, 1935 when Roosevelt signed the appropriate documents. Opposition from the proposed Sutherland (Lower Platte)project, which contended that there was insufficient water in the Platte River and was also seeking federal funds for construction, and from the state's private power companies continued into 1936. Tri-County's water rights were challenged in court, but while the water rights were upheld, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that water could not be diverted out of a river basin. More than half of Tri-County's intended irrigated lands were located in the Republican and Little Blue River watersheds and were denied water. A complete redesign of the project ensued. The dam near Keystone was reinserted into the plans and the proposed Plum Creek reservoirs were abandoned. . Construction began in 1936 and Kingsley Dam was completed in 1941. The remainder of the project was officially completed in 1943. The first irrigation deliveries were made in 1940, supplied to the irrigation canals by temporary diversions from the Platte River. Full irrigation deliveries began in 1942 with 44,174 acres under irrigation. The three public power districts with hydroelectric generating facilities --Loup,Platte Valley and Central=- joined the Nebraska Public Power System(NPPS) in 1942. NPPS was the operation and maintenance arm of the three districts' transmission lines and substations. At about the same time, Consumers Public Power District was formed. (Consumers, Platte Valley and NPPS merged in 1971 to form the Nebraska Public Power District.) Consumers took over the retail distribution systems in many Nebraska communities, which had previously been controlled by investor-owned utilities (IOUs). With the creation of public power,private ownership of power companies in Nebraska soon came to an end. The last IOU in Nebraska was purchased by the Omaha Public Power District in 1946, and, as a result, all of Nebraska's electrical power was provided by public power districts. Nebraska remains the only wholly public power state in the union. As electric loads in the state increased, it became evident that more generating capacity was needed. In 1947, !1/97