News Extra examines water issues in the North Platte Valley

Mick Lookabill, vice president of the North Platte Valley Water Association was Wednesday morning's guest on KNEB's News Extra program.  

Irrigators, agribusinesses, community leaders, conservation organizations, the North Platte Natural Resources District, based in Scottsbluff, Nebraska and other western Nebraskans incorporated the new North Platte Valley Water Association in August 2012 to "protect, preserve and promote" water resources and irrigated agriculture in the North Platte Valley.

Through education, outreach and government affairs efforts across Nebraska, the NPVWA goal is to continue use and conservation of the North Platte Valley's integral economic engine - the North Platte River system and its ancillary water resources.
 
Irrigation in the Valley produces more than $516.4 million a year in crops alone. Irrigation demands are great across Nebraska, particularly in the semi-arid climate of the Panhandle.

Our farms, families, many regional businesses, employers, local schools and governments rely on irrigation from surface and groundwater sources for approximately 475,000 acres of cropland in the North Platte Valley.  At an estimated $1,087 per acre, irrigation produces more than $516.4 million a year in crops alone.  This does not include a multiplier for jobs and other mutual benefits.

Water issues are not new to the North Platte River Valley.  Since the early days of hand-dug irrigation canals and supply canals diverting precious water to crops, a steady supply of water has been essential to our survival.  Irrigation demands are great across Nebraska, particularly in the semi-arid climate of the Panhandle.

For more information on the organization, just log on to: www.npvwater.org.