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I I I I I I I I l'~:1~.1~~ 1<.) I;": 'u aquifer in Colorado. Regulatory measures to stern the declines have not succeeded to date. Surface water shortages occur most frequently in the South Platte basin in Colorado and Nebraska and the North platte'drainage throughout Wyoming and into western Nebraska. Additional storage, system rehabilitation, and improved water management are needed to reduce annual and seasonal shortages. Opportunities exist for irrigating additional lands in the Loup, upper Elkhorn, and Niobrara basins, and areas on the high plains separating the North and South Platte Rivers. Water availability, cost, and other factors limit I I I I I I development. A considerable amount of the subbasin's lands are subject to flooding. Severe and recurring urban flooding occurs at communities with flood-plain areas adjoining the basin's major streams and tributaries. These include--but are not limited--to the South Platte River and tributaries along Colorado's front range; the North Platte River from Casper, Wyoming to Glendo Reservoir; the lower Loup River Basin near Columbus, Nebra~ka; the middle and lower Platte River in Nebraska; and the lower Elkhorn River Basin in Nebraska. Ice jams further aggravate spring flooding upstream from the confluence of the platte and Elkhorn Rivers in eastern Nebraska. I I I I Rural flOOding is also widespread in the Platte-Niobrara Subbasin. Flash floods caused by summer thunderstorms occasionally flood agricultural lands on the eastern plains in Wyoming and Colorado, often damaging irrigation systems. The North Platte and South Platte Rivers and their tributaries are subject to frequent spring floods which damage rural lands, farmsteads, and utilities. The steeper-sloped tributaries rapidly carry excess flows to the rivers, often causing overbank flooding. 7-5 I