I grew up in Denver. We always had water. It came from the mountains and snow runoff. But in recent years we have had shortages. These shortages are an inconvenience in places like Denver, because it leads to dry, brown grass. But in small towns like Wray, water shortages can be a disaster.
Seeking to educate myself on the water issues surrounding our town, here's my understand at present concerning the Republican River Compact. Feel free to correct me or clarify things at any time. Also realize that as a pastor, my desire is to help us as a church and a community seek God.
Agriculture is the lifeblood of our town. Water is the lifeblood of agriculture. And water is very scarce in these parts. We average about 16 inches of annual rainfall. Due to drought it has been much less since 1998. Farms are irrigated with center pivot irrigation sprinklers with water from the Ogallala Aquifer.
Agriculture is the lifeblood of Kansas and Nebraska as well. The Republican River flows through Wray and provides water to Nebraska and Kansas. Since 1942, the Republican River Compact has governed the water allocations of Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas. Colorados' allocation under the compact is 54,100 acre feet.
But Colorado has exceeded this allocation by an average of 11,150 acre feet. So what's a state to do? Enter the Republican River Compact Rules drafted by the State Engineer.
In brief, 186 wells in Yuma and Kit Carson County may be shutdown. That would take 25,000 acres of farmland out of production. For a town of 2,000 and a county of nearly 10,000 it's a rather large percentage of the population. In fact, Wray is within the Republican River Basin and will experience well curtailment.
Ouch. So what can be done? Some have proposed building a pipeline that will redirect water from the Ogallala Aquifer into the Republican River. Others have suggested building a pipeline that will divert water from the Dakota Aquifer into the Republican. Many have suggested conservation and eliminating invasive non-Native plants.
Clearly something must and will be done. Time will tell. Every plan has its pros and cons. At the very least, we need to conserve more water. Why do we have Kentucky bluegrass lawns? How much acre feet of water would be saved by converting bluegrass lawns to buffalo grass? What if we tried composting toilets? How about waterless urinals?
I pray this issue will not further divide our community. I pray God will use this crisis to turn many people to himself in Wray and Yuma county. I pray that our church will seize this opportunity to minister to our community like never before.
