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<br />South Platte River Basin <br /> <br />Description. The South Platte River heads in <br />Colorado and enters Nebraska in the southern <br />panhandle in Deuel county. It joins the North <br />Platte River near the city of North Platte. Lodge- <br />pole Creek, which is the principal Nebraska <br />tributary to the South Platte River, enters <br />Nebraska from Wyoming and flows into the South <br />Platte River just south of the Colorado-Nebraska <br />state line. Consequently, the South Platte Basin <br />extends from the Wyoming-Nebraska state line <br />along the southern portion of the Panhandle to <br />North Platte. <br />Topographically, this basin is marked by high <br />plains and stream valleys. The western plains are <br />gently rolling hills with broad basins. The eastern <br />plains are more pronounced, dissected by <br />canyons. The river valley in the eastern section is <br />broad and flat. The steeper plains are covered in <br />mostly native grass while the broader plains and <br />tablelands have been cultivated. <br />The average annual precipitation ranges from <br />approximately 16 inches in the west to 17-18 <br />inches in the east.27 The general water supply in <br />the basin is variable. Most of the tributaries to the <br />South Platte River dry up during late summer. In <br />addition, development upstream in Colorado has <br />had a significant impact on river quality; return <br />flows from upstream diversions have degraded <br />the water quality. High intensity storms produce <br />most of the runoff from within the basin in <br />Nebraska. <br />The groundwater in the alluvium of the South <br />Platte River valley generally yieldS large amounts <br />of water and has been developed extensively for <br />irrigation. There are, however, only limited <br />amounts of water in the Lodgepole Creek valley. <br />The Ogallala formation underlies the high plains <br />in the eastern part of the basin with sufficient <br />quantities of water available, but at considerable <br />depths. <br />Consequently, most of the land in the basin not <br />located on Lodgepole Creek or the South Platte <br /> <br />River is devoted to dryland farming. Much more <br />land is suitable for irrigation than is currently <br />irrigated, and could be developed if a water <br />supply were available. <br /> <br /> <br />Losses from hail storms are a regular occur- <br />rence in this area, more so than in any other part <br />of the state. In fact, southwest Nebraska and <br />northeast Colorado have been called "Hailstone <br />Alley" due to this almost yearly storm activity. <br />Research to determine the cause is currently <br />being conducted. <br />The Nebraska Public Power District operates <br />two reservoirs in the basin: Sutherland, with a <br />surface acreage of 3,190 acres and storage <br />capacity of 380,000 acre-feet, and Lake <br />Maloney, with 1,670 surface acres and 6,000 <br />acre-feet available storage capacity.29 The re- <br />cently revitalized Oliver Reservoir, located on <br />Lodgepole Creek in Kimball County, has a <br />surface acre size of 280 acres.30 <br /> <br />WATER USE IN 197528 <br />SOUTH PLATTE <br /> <br />SURFACE WATER GROUNDWATER <br /> <br />Area <br />Irrigated <br />ACRES <br /> <br />Total <br />Amount of <br />Water Used <br />ACRE-FEET <br /> <br />Average <br />Amount of <br />Water Used <br />Per Acre <br />ACRE-FEET/ACRE <br /> <br />AREA <br />Irrigated <br />ACRES <br /> <br />Total <br />Amt. of <br />GW Used <br />ACRE-FEET <br /> <br />Ave. <br />Amt. of <br />GW Used <br />Per Acre <br />ACRE-FEET/ACRE <br /> <br />22,600 <br />1.14 <br /> <br />2.59 <br /> <br />155,230 <br /> <br />206,400 <br /> <br />1.33 <br /> <br />58,450 <br />