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Lincoln. Irregular groundwater supplies may require supplementing as in the Nemaha basin and Knox County where rural water systems already supply com- munities. The opportunities for use in most other basins are located in specific communities where local ground- water reservoirs are, or will become, inadequate to meet the quantity requirements of the community. This forces the development of new well fields (supply) at distances from the community which as defined in this report become supplemental (over one mile). This use is discussed in detail in the Policy Issue Study on Municipal Water Needs (Nebraska Natural Resources Commission, 1983). 3. Livestock and rural domestic With the exception of the lower parts of two drainage basins, Loup and Big Blue, the livestock and rural domestic uses on farms and ranches may require sup- plemental water supplies. This use opportunity or need does not occur basin-wide. It may be isolated to a farm, range, or pasture. Often, as in the White River-Hat Creek, Missouri tributaries, Elkhorn, Lower Platte South, and Nemaha drainage basins, it occurs in large enough areas to make rural water systems feasible. In many cases the opportunity for use can exist due to quality as well as quantity problems. This use can be met with supplemental water from surface water and groundwater sources. 4. Electric power Two basins, Niobrara and Loup, contain areas that have been identified as presenting an opportunity to use supplemental water for generation of electric power. Recently, one facility was proposed in Box Butte County to use supplemental groundwater from the Loup drainage basin. The central area of the Loup basin is also the location of a potential generating facility that might use groundwater or surface-impounded water. Another proposal would have developed surface-water storage on the lower reaches of the Loup River to further supply an existing supplemental water project used for hydroelectric power generation. Many existing surface-water storage facilities are being considered for modification to allow hydroelectric power generation. One facility, Kingsley Dam, is being so adapted now. It is hard to predict where future opportunities may occur. 5. Industrial Figure 2-6 identifies some basins where the oppor- tunity to use supplemental water for industrial purposes may occur. This opportunity usually occurs where the same opportunities for municipal use occur for the same reasons. However, this is not always the case, as in western Scotts Bluff County where industrial re- quirements recently presented an opportunity for sup- 2-8 plemental supply in a location removed from municipal supplies. In some instances water quality may create an opportunity for supplemental supply to meet in- dustrial needs. 6. Fish, wildlife, and outdoor recreation Historically, fish, wildlife, and outdoor recreation benefits from development of supplemental water supplies have been largely incidental to projects which were constructed for other purposes. Some examples of exceptions to this have been: (1) pumping from a well into Walgren Lake in Sheridan County to overcome water-quality problems, (2) pumping from wells into south central Nebraska Rainwater Basins to disperse waterfowl during spring migration periods by maintain- ing habitat quality, (3) pumping from the Little Blue River to maintain Crystal Lake near Ayr in southeast Adams County, (4) holding and releasing cooling water from power production into Lake Hastings near Hastings in Adams County and (5) constructing Oliver, Maskenthine and Willow Creek reservoirs with recrea- tion as a prime benefit. Fish, wildlife, and outdoor recreation objectives will be met by future supplemental water-supply developments on a basis similar to that which has oc- curred during the past, i.e., primarily incidental to con- struction of flood control and/or irrigation water-supply reservoirs. The greatest needs for water to support reservoir and lake fishing and water skiing and power boating are in the recreation-planning regions encom- passing the eastern one-third of the state (Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, 1979). However, virtual- ly all new waters created in any portion of the state has potential and should be evaluated for management potential for these purposes. , .1 ~ ..., t .~,~:.~... ~- ,~. -- ~--- --~..;p,..- - .