EYE ON EARTH 17.2 17.5 Wells and Artesian Systems basin of the Republican River
ID: 114258 • Letter: E
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EYE ON EARTH 17.2 17.5 Wells and Artesian Systems basin of the Republican River daof Colorado, Nebraska NEBRASKA he A significant part of the basin Kansas went to court to force farmers in lBthat the farmers were not taking water fr eement. The court ruled in favor of Kansas. considered part of the Republican River system REPUBLICAN RIVER BASIN semiarid. In 1943, the three states made t regarding sharing the river's water er used for irrigation. Nebraska officials River and thus were not violating the 1943 southern n 19sn Nebraska to substantially reduce the amount COLORADO KANSAS ned Repu rom the QUESTION 1 Explain why the court ruled that er in southern Nebraska should be QUESTION 2 How might heavy irrigation in a drainage basin influence the flow of a river? high-hydraulic-conductivity aquifer units and low The horizontal scale of the figure could range from te draulic-conductivity aquitard units. Starting near the top of Figure 17.13, the blue arrows nesent water movement in several local groundwa- pystems that occur in the upper water table aquifer. groundwater systems are separated by groundwater les at the center of the hills, and they discharge to hundreds of kilometers. 17.4 Concept Checks 1. What factors cause water to follow the paths 2. Relate groundwater movement to hydraulic 3. Contrast groundwater movement in a near- shown in Figure 17.11 the aearest surface water body. Beneth these most at in a gradient and hydraulic conductivity ow systems, red arrows show water movement in a in ubich groundwater does not al system with that in a deep reExplanation / Answer
1)On May 26, 1998, the State of Kansas filed a complaint to the United States Supreme Court that claimed the State of Nebraska had violated the Republican River Compact by allowing the unimpeded development of thousands of wells in hydraulic connection with the Republican River and its tributaries. Kansas further alleged that Nebraska was using more water than its allocation under the compact and was depriving Kansas of its full entitlement. The States of Kansas and Nebraska were joined by the United States as amicus curiae in providing a briefing to the Supreme Court on January 19, 1999, which accepted the lawsuit to be known as Kansas v. Nebraska and Colorado, No. 126 Original. The State of Colorado was joined in the lawsuit because the headwaters of the Republican River rise within that state and it is a party to the Republican River Compact.
The drainage basin of the Republican river occupies parts of Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas.The groundwater of southern part of the Nebraska is a part of republic and river system as their root of the drainage basin is derived from the republic and the river basin. so the court has ruled in favor of the petition claimed by Kansas
2)Irrigation has contributed significantly to poverty alleviation, food security, and improving the quality of life for rural populations. However, the sustainability of irrigated agriculture is being questioned, both economically and environmentally. The increased dependence on irrigation has not been without its negative environmental effects.
Inadequate attention to factors other than the technical engineering and projected economic implications of large-scale irrigation or drainage schemes in Africa has all too frequently led to great difficulties. Decisions to embark on these costly projects have often been made in the absence of sound objective assessments of their environmental and social implications. Major capital-intensive water engineering schemes have been proposed without a proper evaluation of their environmental impact and without realistic assessments of the true costs and benefits that are likely to result.
The sustainability of irrigation projects depends on the taking into consideration of environmental effects as well as on the availability of funds for the maintenance of the implemented schemes. Negative environmental impacts could have a serious effect on the investments in the irrigation sector. Adequate maintenance funds should be provided to the implementing organizations to carry out both regular and emergency maintenance.
It is essential that irrigation projects be planned and managed in the context of the overall river basin and regional development plans, including both the upland catchment areas and the catchment areas downstream.
When rain or snow falls onto the earth, it just doesn't sit there, it starts moving according to the laws of gravity. A portion of the precipitation seeps into the ground to replenish Earth's groundwater. Most of it flows downhill as runoff. Runoff is extremely important in that not only does it keep rivers and lakes full of water, but it also changes the landscape by the action of erosion. Flowing water has tremendous power it can move boulders and carve out canyons; check out the Grand Canyon!
Runoff, of course, occurs during storms, and much more water flows in rivers (and as runoff) during storms. For example, in 2001 during a major storm at Peachtree Creek in Atlanta, Georgia, the amount of water that flowed in the river in one day was 7 percent of all the streamflow for the year.
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