March 29, 2023 at 6:00 PM - Water Committee Meeting

Rationale:  Consideration of conditions on an updated contract for LPN-V-015-0427 for the NE1/4, Section 20, T14N, R7E.  

Attachment.

Martin Erickson was present at the Committee Meeting and explained the reasoning for allowing him to irrigate during the day was a safety issue along with chemigation at night has concerns.  Mr. Erickson wanted to make sure that domestic water users evaluated their own wells before other actions should be taken.  
It was pointed out that domestic wells are a higher priority than irrigation wells per State Statues. 

Rationale:  Discussion on organic and inorganic fertilizer applications.  Land applications sites for manure applications and NRD oversight.  

The committee and staff heard a presentation from Andy Scholting on manure applications calculations.  Representatives from Mead cattle were also present to discuss how they handle manure.  If new areas are developed for nitrogen management, the NRD needs to conduct studies like vadose soil sampling and isotope water sampling.  All information and sources of nitrogen need to be considered.  

Oversight on other contaminants and who takes the lead.  A brief discussion was held about AltN and the Committee thought it would be appropriate that a NRD representative attend the local meetings. 

Point source shall mean (a) any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including, but not limited to, any pipe, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, vessel, other floating craft, or other conveyance, over which the Department of Environmental Quality has regulatory authority and from which a substance which can cause or contribute to contamination of groundwater is or may be discharged, (b) point source groundwater users such as commercial/industrial, public water supply, and / or recovery well(s) that seek to collectively supply groundwater equal to or greater than 300 acre feet per year to a single facility or operation;

Non-point source pollution shall mean a source of contamination in which the contaminant enters the receiving water in an intermittent and/or diffuse manner where a point source cannot be identified;
 

Rationale:  John Larson has applied for a new well in the SE1/4 NW 1/4 S24-T22-R6W, Boone County, Upper Newman Grove Subarea. He currently irrigates two full circle pivots totalling 270 acres from well G-147097 and would like to break up the system and have one well for each pivot.  

Rationale:  Charles Emanuel & Sons Inc. has submitted a supplemental well permit in the SE 1/4 SW 1/4 S28-T18N-R6E Dodge County . This supplemental well will be used in series with G-033497 and will irrigate 139 acres. They currently gravity irrigate approximately 100 acres with several different wells in the section, the new well will reduce cost on piping well G-068381 to the pivot point. Well G-068381 will remain but the pump will be removed. 

Rationale:  Merlin Groteluschen, on behalf of Darla Rosendahl, has submitted an application to increase the acres of his irrigation system in the NW 1/4 NW1/4 of S8-T19N-R1E, Platte County, Middle Shell Creek, SQS #2. He currently irrigates 142.24 acres from well G-166098. The application is to increase the system by 34.17 acres. This increase would lower his allocation from 27 acre inches in a three year period to 21.77 acre inches. 

Rationale:  The committee and staff discussed new meter policies with no action taken, with more information being provided at the next Water Committee Meeting.

Attached is the proposed district approved flow meter list for irrigation wells with updates to the flow meter policy. If there aren't any suggestions from directors or other staff members, the water department staff recommends approving the motion to approve the proposed district approved flow meter list for irrigation wells and to implement and carry out the additional policies that have been added through this process.

Question for the committee members? Would we want to implement and carry out the newly added policies on the already installed electric-powered meters that are currently installed throughout the district? Or are those ones grandfathered in? Staff recommends leaving these ones alone and handling these on a case by case basis until an issue arises such as dead batteries. At that point in time, we would require that the flow meter from this point forward needs to be powered by external electricity with the battery serving as a backup. Currently, around 100 flow meters district wide are electrically powered by a lithium battery source. 

Rationale:  Committee and staff discuss the accuracy of the names and want staff to double check that these producers are in violation.  The Committee wants to deal with the certifications that have lapsed before evaluating individuals that have never attended.  

Attached is an updated list from this year's certification classes.

The staff is reviewing the current list plus checking on individuals that might not have not attended in the past 20 years. Information from the Rules and Regulations is shown.
Who should all attend?  Update rules?                 Rule 3    Natural Resources District Operator Certification  

Rationale:  Board Meeting is scheduled for April 12 at the NARD office in Lincoln, starting at 10 am.  Bob Hilger is LPN representative for the Board with Dave Saalfeld the alternate.  

Rationale: 

Chemigation renewal permits have been sent out.

For 2022 we have xxx renewals and xx new permit applications for a current total of xxx.  Inspections for xx renewal permits have been completed.
 

Rationale:  Attached are graphs from GWEL wells in SQS #1.  

Rationale: 

The LPNNRD has received # ==== livestock permit applications from DEQ since the last Water Committee meeting.
The Board did past a motion to stay neutral on livestock facilities and the NRD responsibility is with the permitting of high capacity wells.  Manure application is usually treated as any commercial fertilizer, which soil sampling and manure analysis should be conducted and handled by NDEE.  

Name	Livestock	Type of Permit	Legal Description	County

 

 

 Description of permit application

 

Rationale:  Attached is the original inter-local agreement along with an updated amendment that needs to be signed.  The dollar amounts were approved at last month's board meeting.  

Rationale: 

# new wells has been reviewed and approved for decommissioning since the last Committee meeting.

 

Rationale: 

# wells have been plugged, reviewed, and ready for cost share payment approval this month.

Well Owner	Type of Well	Cost Share Estimate	County

 

Rationale:  Interest on the cost-share items has increased.  Attached are applications received in March for $58,190.  Two (2) applications are from fields that are right next to the phase area and 1 application is for a second gravity-pivot conversion for the same person.   

Committee recommends that eligible applications need to be within the current Phase 3 boundaries.  Staff will be able to approve applications as long as the amount does not exceed the budget item.   A monthly report will be given to the Committee and Board on items that have been approved with dollar amounts.  

Staff has been in discussion with producers, UNL and Sentinel fertigation on demonstration sites. It appears one site will be developed with staff still looking for another site.  

Attached is an example of a producer with 4 consecutive years in the Schuyler-Richland area.  The example does show some improvement but yield goals might be higher than what the field is capable of producing on a regular basis.  

Discuss: Reporting Dates, an agreement, Dual Reporting,
Current Phase Area triggers: (0-8) Phase 1 (8-10) Phase 2 (10-15) Phase 3 (15+) Phase 4

Committee and staff discussed dates and triggers with no action taken.  

Rationale:  Discussion on Reverse Osmosis (RO) Units, well registrations for individuals.  To help educate citizens, the LPNNRD could leave 4x5 flyers for people who are not home with dual-language flyers. Just nitrate sampling or should uranium, arsenic, etc be added? It is more expensive for these types of samples. 

The committee felt that in certain situations, other contaminants should be sampled if NRD staff found other wells in the area with that contaminate.  At budget time, the committee will look at cost-share on RO units along with assistance for the well registration.  

Rationale:  Staff and committee discussed setting up demonstration sites for individuals for cost-share on soil moisture sensors for individuals in SQS #2 with assistance from UNL plus other areas of the District.  The committee felt this could be conducted within the budgeted amount for this year.  

Irrometer now has the remote capability available for the NAWMDM equipment.  The staff have received information on this option.  

Soil Moisture Sensors Rules update is attached for review, which would allow for rental along with purchase.  

Rationale:  Attached are some recent articles on contaminants plus a map of LPN staff water sampling in 2022.

From NARD weekly report:

Dir. Macy was asked if groundwater nitrates are trending up, down, or staying the same? He responded by noting that is why NDEE wants to do the study. NDEE puts together a report each year, but the wells reported in the groundwater report are not duplicated and that’s why NDEE wants to do the study. The data is good quality but is not duplicated enough to do statistics on it.
The committee asked additional questions about groundwater nitrate, and what NDEE is going to use $1M for? Dir. Macy reiterated that it would be to develop a plan to get more data. He noted that only 28 private drinking water wells over the last 10 years have been sampled to run trends on. NDEE wants a statewide study in one swoop to see where there are problems.
He was asked how frequently NDEE would sample private wells? He mentioned that would be determined through the engineer of the study.
Sen. Erdman asked if the NRDs are doing their job? Dir. Macy noted that NRDs do supply NDEE with the technical information. NDEE is responsible for groundwater quality. NRDs are responsible for looking at where nitrates are increasing and restrict fertilizer application in those areas.
Sen. Erdman followed up with a question of if the NRDs are responsible for this problem? Dir. Macy deferred and said he can’t speak to what the NRDs are doing and said he wanted to look at it statewide.

Rationale: 

A request for ULNRD Groundwater Management Plan to be sent out to the Committee members reviewing LPN plan.  

46-709.

Ground water management plan; required; contents.

Each district shall maintain a ground water management plan based upon the best available information and shall submit amendments to such plan to the Director of Natural Resources for review and approval.

The plan shall include, but not be limited to, the identification to the extent possible of:

(1) Ground water supplies within the district including transmissivity, saturated thickness maps, and other ground water reservoir information, if available;

(2) Local recharge characteristics and rates from any sources, if available;

(3) Average annual precipitation and the variations within the district;

(4) Crop water needs within the district;

(5) Current ground water data-collection programs;

(6) Past, present, and potential ground water use within the district;

(7) Ground water quality concerns within the district;

(8) Proposed water conservation and supply augmentation programs for the district;

(9) The availability of supplemental water supplies, including the opportunity for ground water recharge;

(10) The opportunity to integrate and coordinate the use of water from different sources of supply;

(11) Ground water management objectives, including a proposed ground water reservoir life goal for the district. For management plans adopted or revised after July 19, 1996, the ground water management objectives may include any proposed integrated management objectives for hydrologically connected ground water and surface water supplies but a management plan does not have to be revised prior to the adoption or implementation of an integrated management plan pursuant to section 46-718 or 46-719;

(12) Existing subirrigation uses within the district;

(13) The relative economic value of different uses of ground water proposed or existing within the district; and

(14) The geographic and stratigraphic boundaries of any proposed management area.

If the expenses incurred by a district preparing or amending a ground water management plan exceed twenty-five percent of the district's current budget, the district may make application to the Nebraska Resources Development Fund for assistance.

Each district's ground water management plan shall also identify, to the extent possible, the levels and sources of ground water contamination within the district, ground water quality goals, long-term solutions necessary to prevent the levels of ground water contaminants from becoming too high and to reduce high levels sufficiently to eliminate health hazards, and practices recommended to stabilize, reduce, and prevent the occurrence, increase, or spread of ground water contamination.

Rationale:  Attached is a quote for $1,596 for a new datalogger to replace a logger installed in 2006 on an LPN monitoring well.