Groundwater Transfers in Nebraska

Renata Rimšaitė
July 2023

Groundwater transfers are a water management tool that can be used to provide flexibility and lower drought risk to crop growers. In Nebraska, groundwater transfers are regulated and administered by Natural Resources Districts (NRDs). Our team at DWFI spoke to representatives from seven of those districts to better understand the context and details related to groundwater transfers in each of them. The rules and practices vary significantly across the districts; there are differences in transfer types, environmental and conservation goals, and in the language used to define these rules.

Our findings are synthesized in several different formats, which are available below.

Groundwater Transfers in Nebraska: A report documenting the variety of approaches to groundwater transfers and providing guidelines for practitioners interested in establishing new water markets
A Decision Process for Buyers and Sellers: A graphic illustrating three major steps in the agricultural groundwater transfer process
Seven infographics which can be accessed by clicking the map on a selected NRD shaded in blue.

The map was created by Aakanksha Melkani and Shunkei Kakimoto.

Note only the districts in blue are currently available.

For more information, contact Renata Rimšaitė (rrimsaite@nebraska.edu).