Integrated Management Plan (IMP)

IMP Quick Facts

1. Nebraska Law designated the Upper Platte River Basin Over Appropriated and requires the Natural Resources Districts (NRD) in the Upper Platte River Basin to jointly approve, with the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (NE DNR), IMPs to return the Upper Platte River Basin to a Fully Appropriated condition.

2. The TPNRD IMP First 10 Year Increment from 2009 to 2019 required that the TPNRD provide an annual delivery of 7,700 acre-feet of water to the Platte River, or begin regulations for all ground water users. The TPNRD succeeded in securing that 7,700 acre-feet is available annually for the Platte River.

3. The TPNRD IMP Second 10 Year Increment from 2019 to 2029 requires that the TPNRD provide an annual delivery of 25,000 acre-feet of water to the Platte River, or begin regulations for all ground water users. That is an additional 17,300 acre-feet to be available annually for the Platte River.

4. The TPNRD IMP Second 10 Year Increment is divided into two four-year phases, and a final two-year phase, during which the TPNRD must make progress toward finding an additional 17,300 acre-feet of water for the river, or begin immediate regulations for all ground water users.

5. For the TPNRD IMP Second 10 Year Increment, the TPNRD Board of Directors and the NE DNR accepted the stakeholder’s recommendation that the TPNRD begin a data collection program. This program is to provide growers in the TPNRD real time daily information of their water use. This program is also to provide accurate information for the TPNRD computer water models used by NE DNR to determine the water requirements for each NRD in the Upper Platte River Basin. The TPNRD believes that accurate data will reduce ground water use and reduce the ground water the computer models show is being used.

6. The TPNRD believes that this data collection program, and additional projects, will successfully meet the requirements of the TPNRD IMP Second Increment, and prevent regulations.