Acre-inch
means the amount of water necessary
to cover an acre of land one inch deep;
Acre-foot
A volume of water equal to one foot in depth covering
an area of one acre. Also 43,560 cubic feet, or 325,851
gallons. Used to measure stored water quantities.
Alleged
Violator means any person against which a complaint has been
filed in accordance with Rule 2-3 of these Rules and
Regulations;
Allocation
means the allotment of a specified total number of acre-inches
of irrigation water per irrigated acre
per year or an average number of acre-inches of irrigation water
per irrigated acre over any reasonable period of time
not to exceed five years;
Animal
Unit means a unit of measurement for any livestock operation
calculated by adding the following numbers:
The
number of slaughter and feeder cattle multiplied by 1.0,
plus
the number of mature dairy cattle or cow/calf pairs multiplied
by 1.4,
plus
the number of swine weighing fifty-five pounds or more multiplied
by 0.4,
plus
the number of weaned pigs weighing less than fifty-five pounds
multiplied by 0.04,
plus
the number of sheep multiplied by 0.1,
plus
the number of horses multiplied by 2.0,
plus
the number of chickens multiplied by 0.01,
plus
the number of turkeys multiplied by 0.02,
plus
the number of ducks multiplied by 0.2.
Best
Management Practices (BMP's) means schedules of activities,
maintenance procedures, and other management practices
utilized to prevent or reduce present and future contamination
of ground water which may include irrigation scheduling, proper
rate and timing of fertilizer application, and other
fertilizer and pesticide management programs. In determining
the rate of fertilizer application, the district shall consult
with the University
of Nebraska
or a certified crop advisor certified by the American Society
of Agronomy;
Certified
Irrigated Tract means any tract of land in the North Platte
Natural Resources District, contiguous or not, owned
by a person that is irrigated by groundwater from
a single well or from multiple wells that are interconnected
by a common carrier and that has been certified
by the District to allow the use of groundwater for irrigation
according to the process described in
these rules and regulations;
Contamination
or Contamination of Ground Water means nitrate
nitrogen or other material which enters the groundwater
due to action of any person and causes degradation of the
quality of groundwater sufficient to make such groundwater unsuitable
for present or reasonably foreseeable beneficial uses;
Common
Carrier means any carrier of water including a pipe, canal,
ditch, or other means of piping or combining water
for irrigation or other certified uses;
Dewatering
Well means water well constructed and used solely for the
purpose of lowering the ground water table elevation;
District
means the North Platte Natural Resources District (NPNRD),
as established pursuant to Section 2-3203 R.R.S. 1997;
Domestic
Well means a water well designed to provide water for human
needs as it relates to health, fire protection, sanitation,
water for domestic livestock as related to normal farm
and ranch operations, or water for lawns and gardens for family
use or profit where the area to be irrigated does
not exceed two acres. This does not include any well drilled for
a public water system;
Emergency
Situation means any set of circumstances that requires the
use of water from any source that might otherwise
be regulated or prohibited and the District reasonably and
in good faith believes that such use is necessary to protect the
public health, safety, and welfare, including, if
applicable, compliance with federal or state water quality standards;
Flow
Meter means a device installed on a well to measure the amount
of water being pumped from that well and
the rate at which the water is being pumped; which meets standards
and specifications established by the Board; and which is properly
calibrated according to the manufacturer's standards;
Good
Cause Shown means a reasonable justification for granting
a variance for a consumptive use of water that would
otherwise be prohibited by rule or regulation and which the
District reasonably and in good faith believes will provide an
economic, environmental, social, or public health
and safety benefit that is equal to or greater than the benefit
resulting from the rule or regulation from which a
variance is sought;
Ground
Water means that water which occurs in or moves, seeps, filters
or percolates through ground under the surface of
the land;
Ground
Water User means a person who at any time extracts, withdraws,
or confines ground water for any use by
that person or allows such use by other persons at a rate which
requires a permit under Section 46-735 R.S. SUPP.
2004 or as hereafter amended. Whenever the landowner
and operator are different, the term 'ground water user' shall
mean both the owner and the operator;
Illegal
Well means: (i) Any well not registered
pursuant to the provisions of Sections 46-602 R.S.
SUPP 2004 and 46-602.01, R.R.S. 2004 or as hereafter amended;
(ii) any well in violation of spacing requirements
specified by Section 46-609 or 46-651, R.R.S. 2004 or as hereafter
amended; (iii) Any well installed in violation of any rules written
by the District; (iv) Any well utilized
for application of chemical materials in violation of the Nebraska
Chemigation Act, and such rules and regulations as
may be adopted from time to time by the Nebraska Department
of Environmental Quality; (v) Any well or pit from which water
is transported to an adjoining state in violation
of Section 46-613.01, R.R.S. 2004 or as hereafter
amended; (vi) Any well located within 50 feet of the bank of any
natural stream and utilized for irrigation purposes
without a permit required by Section 46-637, R.R.S. 1993 or as
hereafter amended; (vii) Any well constructed without
a required permit under Section 46-735 R.S. SUPP.
2004 or as hereafter amended; (viii) Any illegal water well as
defined by Section 46-1207.01 R.S. SUPP. 2004 or as
hereafter amended; (ix) Any well constructed or operated in
violation of these or other rules and regulations of the District
or of other applicable laws, rules or regulations
of the State of Nebraska and its agencies;
Improper
Irrigation Run-off means the occurrence of irrigation run-off
water (1) within a designated management area; (2)
which causes or contributes to the accumulation of water upon
or beneath the surface of the lands of any other person(s)
to their detriment; or (3) which causes or contributes
to the deterioration of water quality by depositing sediment or
associated chemicals in surface waters within the
area;
Inactive
Status Well means a water well that is in
a good state of repair and for which the owner has
provided evidence of intent for future use by maintaining the
water well in a manner which meets the following requirements:
1. The water well does not allow
impairment of the water quality in the water well or of the
ground water encountered by the water well;
2.
The top of the water well or water well casing has a water-tight
welded or threaded cover
or some other water-tight means to prevent its removal without
the use of equipment or tools
to prevent unauthorized access, to prevent a safety hazard to
humans and animals, and to prevent illegal
disposal of wastes or contaminants into the water well;
3.
All entrances and discharge piping to the water well are effectively
sealed to prevent the entrance of contaminants;
and
4.
The water well is marked so as to be easily visible and located
and is labeled or otherwise
marked so as to be easily identified as a water well and the area
surrounding the water well is kept clear
of brush, debris, and waste material;
Industrial/Commercial
Well means a well for the purpose of manufacturing,
commercial or power generation uses of water. Commercial
use includes, but is not limited to, maintenance of
the turf of a golf course, cemetery, soccer or other sports fields,
or other recreational areas;
Irrigated
Acre means any acre that is certified as such pursuant to
rules and regulations of the District and that is
actually capable of being supplied water through irrigation
works, mechanisms, or facilities existing at the time of the certification;
Irrigation
Run-off Water means groundwater used for irrigation purposes
which escapes from land owned, leased, or otherwise
under the direct supervision and control of a groundwater
user;
Landowner
means any person who owns or is in
the process of purchasing land;
Livestock
Operation means
a location where beef cattle, dairy cattle, horses, swine, sheep,
poultry, or other livestock have been, are, or will be stabled
or confined and fed or maintained for a total of one
hundred days or more in any twelve month period and where crops
and vegetation, forage growth, or post-harvest residues are not
sustained in the normal growing season over a majority
of the area. Livestock operation does not include an operation
involving 250 animal units or less in a confined lot
or an aquaculture facility;
Operator
means that person who has the most
direct control over the day-to-day farming operation
of the land concerned;
Operator
Certification means a current certificate
signifying that a person has completed the necessary
educational programs established under the rules and regulations
of any groundwater management area or sub-area established
by the District;
Overappropriated
Area shall mean
the area of the North Platte Natural Resources District designated
as overappropriated by Order of the Nebraska Department of Natural
Resources on September 15, 2004 , as shown on Map 1
Person
means a natural person, a partnership,
a limited liability company, an association, a corporation,
a municipality, an irrigation district, an agency or a political
subdivision of the state, a department, an agency,
or a bureau of the United States, or any other entity
recognized by law;
Public
Water System means
a system for providing the public with water for human consumption
through pipes or, after August 5, 1998 ,
other constructed conveyances, if such system has
at least 15 service connections or regularly serves an average
of at least 25 individuals daily at least 60 days
per year. Public water systems include:
1.
Any collection, treatment, storage, and distribution facilities
under control of the operator
of such system and used primarily in connection with such system,
and
2.
Any collection or pretreatment storage facilities not under such
control which are used primarily
in connection with such system. Public water system does not include
a special irrigation district.
A public water system is either a community water system or a
non- community
water system;
Range
Livestock means
livestock that are kept in pastures, on rangeland, or on other
grazing lands and allowed to feed on vegetation growing
therein;
Regulated
Well means a single water well or a
series of water wells, connected by a common carrier,
the purpose of which is to provide water for a certified groundwater
use as defined regardless of the pumping capacity.
Replacement wells and any excavation of land, including
a sandpit, constructed for the extraction of ground water for
irrigation or any other beneficial use are regulated
wells. Domestic, range livestock, dewatering wells with an intended
use of one year or less, test holes, monitoring and observation
wells, wells constructed pursuant to a groundwater
remediation plan under the Environmental Protection Act
are not regulated wells;
Replacement
Well means a water well which (a) replaces an abandoned water
well within three years of the last operation of the
abandoned water well and (b) is constructed to provide
water to the same tract of land as the abandoned water well being
replaced;
Rotation
means a recurring series of use and non-use of irrigation
wells on an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly
basis;
Test
Hole mean a hole designed solely for the purpose of obtaining
information on hydrologic or geologic conditions;
Water
Well means any excavation that is drilled, cored, bored,
washed, driven, dug, jetted, or otherwise constructed
for the purpose of exploring for ground water, monitoring ground
water, utilizing geothermal properties of the ground, obtaining
hydrogeologic information, or extracting water from
or injecting water into the underground water reservoir. Water
well does not include any excavation made for obtaining or prospecting
for oil or natural gas or for inserting media to repressure
oil or natural gas bearing formations regulated by
the Nebraska Oil and Gas Commission;
Well
Permit means a document that must be obtained
from the district in accordance with Sections
46-735 through 46-738, Revised Statutes of Nebraska, and the North
Platte NRD's rules and Regulations for the Enforcement
of the Nebraska Groundwater Management and Protection
Act;
Working
Day means Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
of any week, excluding holidays observed by the District
as described in the District personnel policy.
absolute
water right: A property right to put water to beneficial use with
a specified priority date.
acre-foot:
adjudication:
To hear and settle a case by judicial procedure.
alkali:
a soluble salt or a mixture of soluble salts present in some soils
of arid regions in quantity detrimental to agriculture .
alluvial
water: Ground water that is hydrologically part of a surface stream
that is present in permeable soil material, usually small rock
and gravel.
appropriate:
(verb) To take the legal actions necessary to create a right to
take water from a stream, tributary or aquifer for application
to beneficial use.
appropriation:
The right to take water from a stream, tributary or aquifer for
beneficial use at a specified rate of flow, either for immediate
use or to store for later use. Usually evidenced by a water
court decree.
aquifer:
An underground deposit of sand, gravel or rock through which water
can pass or is stored. Aquifers supply the water for wells
and springs.
augmentation
plan: A court-approved plan that allows a water user to
divert water out of priority so long as adequate replacement is
made to the affected stream system preventing injury to the water
rights of senior users.
augmentation
source: The supply of water used to replace out-of-priority
depletions.
beneficial
use: Application of water without waste for human or natural
benefit.
call:
The exercise of a senior water right holder of "calling" for his
or her water rights, requiring upstream junior water right holders
to allow water to flow to the senior right holder.
Clean
Water Act: The federal law that sets forth how the United
States will restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological
integrity of the country's waters (oceans, lakes, streams and
rivers, ground water and wetlands). The law provides protection
to the country's surface waters from both point and non-point
sources of pollution.
Colorado
Doctrine: see appropriation.
Colorado
Water Conservation Board: The state agency vested with the
authority to appropriate water of streams and lakes in amounts
that are determined to be necessary to preserve the natural environment
to a reasonable degree.
compact:
A contract between states that is ratified by those states' legislatures
and by the U.S. Congress. The contract controls the division of
water in a river system that flows across state boundaries.
conditional
water right: The legal preservation of a priority date that
provides a water user time to develop his or her water right,
but reserves a more senior date. A conditional right becomes
an absolute right when water is actually put to beneficial use.
conservancy
district: Established by decree of a court under the Water
Conservancy District Act of 1937. A conservancy district
can obtain rights-of-way for works; contract with the United States
or otherwise provide for construction of facilities; assume contractual
or bonded indebtedness; administer, operate, and maintain
physical works; have authority to conserve, control, allocate,
and distribute water supplies; and have contracting and limited
taxing authority to derive the revenues necessary to accomplish
its purposes. There are currently 45 conservancy districts in
Colorado.
conservation:
Obtaining the benefits of water more efficiently.
conservation
district: Established under specific statues by the Colorado
General Assembly. There are currently three conservation districts
in Colorado; the Colorado River Water Conservation District,
the Southwestern Water Conservation District, and the Rio Grande
Water Conservation District. The mission is to oversee the
conservation, use, and development of water in large geographical
areas of the state.
consumptive
use: Any use of water that permanently removes water from
the natural stream system.
Continental
Divide: An imaginary boundary line that runs north-south along
the crest of the Rocky Mountains, separating river and drainages
that flow west to the Pacific Ocean from those that flow south
and east to the Gulf of Mexico.
cubic
feet per second (cfs): A rate of water flow at a given point,
amounting to a volume of one cubic foot for each second of time.
Equal to 7.48 gallons per second, 448.8 gallons per minute, or
1.984 acre feet per day.
decree:
A court decision about a water right that is then administered
by Colorado's Water Resources Department.
direct
flow (also direct right): Water diverted from a river or
stream for use without interruption between diversion and use
except for incidental purposes, such as settling or filtration.
diversion:
The removal of water from its natural course or location, or controlling
water in its natural course or location by means of a ditch, canal,
flume, reservoir, bypass, pipeline, conduit, well, pump or other
device.
drought:
A long period of below-average precipitation.
due
diligence: The efforts necessary to complete a water appropriation
action that demonstrates a good faith action to complete a diversion
of water within a reasonable time period.
effluent:
Water discharged after use, as in water leaving a wastewater treatment
plant.
effluent
exchange: The practice of using wastewater effluent from
transbasin water, non-tributary water sources, or other sources
without causing injury to other water rights as a replacement
source of water for diversion of water farther upstream that would
otherwise have been out of priority.
Endangered
Species Act: The federal law that governs how animal and
plant species whose populations are dangerously in decline or
close to extinction will be protected and recovered. The
law protects not only threatened and endangered species, but also
the ecosystems upon which they depend.
Energy
Policy Act (EPACT): A 1992 federal law that states, among
other things, that no toilet for household use manufactured after
Jan. 1, 1994, shall use more than 1.6 gallons per flush and that
shower heads and faucets manufactured after Jan. 1, 1994, may
not use more than 2.5 gallons per minute.
exchange:
A process by which water, under certain conditions, may be diverted
out of priority at one point by replacing it with a like amount
of water at another point.
exempt
wells: those wells that are exempt from water rights administration
under a priority system (examples of exempt wells are household
use only, domestic and livestock wells, and pre 1972 unregistered
wells ).
firm
annual yield: The yearly amount of water that can be dependably
supplied from the raw water sources of a given water supply system.
futile
call: A situation in which a junior ( more recent) priority
is allowed to continue to divert in spite of a downstream senior
call because curtailing the junior would not reasonably produce
any additional water for the senior.
ground
water: Water found below the earth's surface.
hydrologic
cycle: The movement of water from the atmosphere to the
earth and back again to the atmosphere. The three stages are precipitation,
runoff or infiltration and evaporation.
instream
flows: Water flowing in its natural stream bed, such as
water required for maintaining flowing streams, or for fish.
interstate
compacts: see compacts
junior
rights: Water rights that are more recent than older or
more senior rights.
National
Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit: A
permit required under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act regulating
discharge of pollutants to the nation's waterways.
National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): The federal law enacted
to ensure the integration of natural and social sciences and environmental
design in planning and decision-making for projects that may impact
the quality of the human environment.
non-consumptive
use: Water drawn for use that is not consumed, for example,
water withdrawn for purposes such as hydropower generation. It
also includes uses such as boating or fishing where the water
is still available for other uses at the same site.
non-exempt
wells: those that are governed by the priority system and
may be curtailed (included any other type of well not considered
exempt).
non-point
source: Pollution discharged over a wide land area, not
from one specific location. Runoff from city streets, parking
lots, home lawns, agricultural land, individual septic systems
and construction sites that finds its way into lakes and stream
constitutes an important sources of water pollutants.
non-tributary
ground water: Underground water that meets certain legislative
criteria as to its effect on a stream system.
point
source: Pollutants discharged from any identifiable point,
including pipes, ditches, channels, sewers, tunnels and containers
of various types.
potable:
Water that is considered safe for domestic consumption; drinkable.
prior
appropriation doctrine: A legal concept in which the first
person to appropriate water and apply it to a beneficial use has
the first right to use that amount of water from that source.
Each successive appropriator may only take a share of the water
remaining after all senior water rights are satisfied. This
is the historical basis for Colorado water law and is sometimes
known as the Colorado Doctrine or the principle of "first in time,
first in right."
priority:
The right of an earlier appropriator to divert from a natural
stream in preference to a later appropriator.
priority
date: The date of establishment of a water right.
The rights established by application have the application date
as the date of priority.
raw
water: Untreated water.
reservoir:
An impoundment of collected water controlled by a dam (raw water)
or storage tank (potable water).
return
flows: The unused portion of water that returns to a stream
or river after a beneficial use.
reuse:
To use again, to intercept for subsequent beneficial use--either
directly or by exchange--water that would otherwise return to
the stream system.
revegetate:
To provide barren land with a new vegetative cover.
runoff:
Water that flows on the earth's surface to streams, rivers, lakes,
and oceans.
Safe
Drinking Water Act (SDWA): Federal legislation that regulates
the treatment of water for human consumption. Requires testing
for and elimination of contaminants to levels for the protection
of human health.
senior
rights: Water rights that are staked the earliest with the
water court.
surface
water: Water present on the earth's surface.
system
loss: An amount of water, expressed as a percentage, lost
from a water storage or distribution system due to leaks, evaporation,
seepage and unauthorized use.
transbasin
diversion: The conveyance of water from its natural drainage
basin into another basin for beneficial use.
transmountain
diversion: The conveyance of water from one drainage basin
to another across the Continental Divide.
treated
water: Water that has been filtered and/or disinfected;
sometimes used interchangeably with "potable" water.
tributary:
A stream or river that flows into a larger one.
tributary
drainage: The area from which water naturally drains by
gravity into a water course.
tributary
ground water: Water present below the earth's surface that
is hydrologically connected to a natural surface stream.
urban
runoff: Excess water that doesn't infiltrate the soil, but
flows to a storm sewer or open waterway.
water
and sanitation districts: A special taxing district formed
by the residents of the district for the combined purpose of providing
potable water and sanitary wastewater services.
water
right: A property right to make beneficial use of a particular
amount of water with a specified priority date.
watershed:
An area from which water drains to a given stream or river or
river system.
Wellhead
Protection Program: An amendment to the federal Safe Drinking
Water Act in 1986. Initiated to minimize the potential for
contamination of public ground water supplies.
wetlands:
Areas with standing water of a high water table either permanently
or for some significant period each year. Generally includes
swamps, marshes, bogs and areas with water-loving vegetation that
grows in or around water.
Xeriscape:
A landscape concept to describe beautiful landscaping that has
low water needs. The term was developed by Denver Water in 1981.
It is derived from the Greek word xeros, meaning dry. |
