Fall groundwater levels down in southeast Nebraska resource district

BEATRICE – Groundwater levels in a part of southeast Nebraska have declined since last Spring. In the Lower Big Blue NRD, about 170 wells are measured within the district. 

Ryan Thomas is a resource conservationist with the NRD.  "Overall, from this spring to fall, district-wide, the levels were down five feet. That's a little bit lower than normally see...and in normal years we're down anywhere from a foot-and-a-half to two-and-a-half feet, from spring to fall. This year, we used a little bit more water, as the precipitation was down a little bit."

Most of the wells used in the measurement are irrigation wells, with monitoring wells drilled by the NRD in addition to others along the Big Blue River. The recent Fall groundwater readings were down two-and-a-half feet from the Fall of 2020.

Thomas says the Lower Big Blue sets its regulations based upon spring groundwater levels.  "We expect probably from that foot-and-a-half to two-and-a-half feet of recharge, hopefully coming next spring....going into the growing season."

The next measurements will be taken in late April or early May of next year. Thomas says the past two years, lower use of irrigation resulted in some recharge of groundwater levels. With less rainfall this year, readings slipped a bit.  "It's all rain-driven....it's all the weather patterns, that way."

The Lower Big Blue NRD does not restrict irrigation pumping. Thomas says the district has other measures it can take, including increased monitoring, if declines continue to be seen.