The Upper Republican Basin covers
approximately 4,900 square miles of northwestern Kansas. The
basin covers all or parts of Cheyenne, Rawlins, Decatur, Norton,
Phillips, Sherman, Thomas and Sheridan counties. There were an
estimated 28,480 residents in the basin in the year 2000, and
the population is projected to reduce to 26,000 by the year
2040.
The major streams in the basin from
west to east are the South Fork Republican River, Beaver Creek,
Sappa Creek and Prairie Dog Creek (see Figure 1). The stream
valleys are mostly broad and shallow, with low relief although
locally the relief is as much as 200 feet.
Keith Sebelius Lake is located on
Prairie Dog Creek in the eastern part of the basin. It is a
federal lake built for flood control, municipal and industrial
water supply, recreation and irrigation. The lake is operated
and maintained by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of
Reclamation.
The climate of the basin is
characterized by moderate to low precipitation, relatively high
wind velocities, fairly rapid rates of evaporation, and a wide
range of temperatures and abrupt, sometimes violent changes in
weather. Average annual precipitation amount varies from 17
inches in the west to 22 inches in the east. The average annual
runoff varies from about 0.2 inches in the west to 1.1 inches in
the east.
In this basin ground water is the
main source of water for all purposes, accounting for just over
99 percent of reported usage in 1997. Irrigation is the primary
use of water, followed by much smaller amounts going to
municipal, stockwater, recreational and industry in that order.
The economy of the basin is very
dependent on agriculture. Crops grown include wheat, corn,
grain sorghum, soybeans, forage sorghum, alfalfa and sunflower.
Irrigation is widespread and extremely important to the area
economics. Livestock production is an important part of the
area’s agriculture. Beef cattle are the predominant livestock
raised in the basin.
Oil has been produced in the basin
in commercial quantities since 1951, and oil fields of economic
importance are present in Decatur, Norton, Phillips, Rawlins and
Sherman counties. Except for oil, industry and manufacturing
are generally of minor importance to the economy of this area.
All or parts of six counties in the
basin are covered by Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management
District No. 4. This is an important water management force in
the basin.
The
Republican River Compact is another important water management
force in the basin. The Republican River Compact, established
between Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska in 1943, apportioned the
waters of the Republican River among the three states. For more
than ten years, Kansas has expressed concern to the compact
administration about depletion of stream flow and Nebraska’s
failure to comply with the compact. After attempts to resolve
the issue through the compact commission and direct meetings
with the State of Nebraska, the 1998 Kansas Legislature passed
House Concurrent Resolution #5030 requiring the Attorney General
to bring suit against the State of Nebraska to enforce the
provisions of the Republican River Compact. Kansas initiated
litigation through the United States Supreme Court in May, 1998.
