Water News Archive

Agricultural Irrigation & Water Quality

Map illustrating concentrations of nitrate-nitrogen across the state

Research has shown that concentrations of nitrate - nitrogen have accumulated in the groundwater beneath areas where irrigation is intense and where the soils are permeable allowing for leaching of nitrogen fertilizer. Leaching is most severe for surface irrigation systems used to irrigate sandy soils. The Platte River Valley and Eastern Sandhills have been most severely affected.

Subsurface Drip

Advantages and Disadvantages of Subsurface Drip Irrigation, EC776 (PDF, 1.2 MB; 8 full color pages)
Discusses subsurface drip irrigation, including the advantages of water application efficiency and savings, energy savings and potential yield increases and the disadvantges of initial investment, system capacity, design restrictions and emitter clogging.

Regulations & Policies

Nebraska water resources play a major role in the state's heritage and economy. Beginning with the state constitution, Nebraska surface waters have been governed by the Appropriative First-in-Time, First-in-Right Rule which allows diversion of water from the surface waters of the state based upon the date the water right was obtained. Surface water rights entitle land owners or organizations to remove a set amount of water from a specific location.

Order the Water Optimizer CD/DVD set for $7.00. The CD/DVD set contains material not available for download: background information, applications, examples and research results for the Water Optimizer program.

The Water Optimizer tool evaluates single fields for several crop options. Irrigated crops include: corn, soybeans, sorghum, wheat, alfalfa, edible beans, sunflowers, and sugar beets. Dryland crops include: corn, soybeans, sorghum, sunflowers, alfalfa and wheat in continuous, summer fallow and eco-fallow rotations.

Economics & Costs

The University of Nebraska's Bureau of Business Research conducted a study in 2003 to determine the impact of irrigated agriculture on Nebraska 's economy. The net total economic impact was computed by comparing impacts with irrigation to what would have resulted without irrigation. The research examined actual 2003 impacts and what would have occurred if average precipitation had occurred. For normal precipitation the total impact of irrigation would have been just over $3.6 billion per year. Since 2003 was a drought year, the actual economic impact was more than $4.5 billion.

The evapotranspiration (ET) process is a key variable in many disciplines including irrigation management, crop growth, hydrologic cycle, plant physiology, soil-plant-water-atmosphere relationships, microclimate and surface interactions, and drainage studies.

Application Uniformity of In-Canopy Sprinklers, G1712
PDF version
Use of in-canopy sprinklers can reduce application uniformity and increase runoff. Learn how to evaluate the efficiency of in-canopy sprinklers.

Irrigation Management Publications from Nebraska Extension

Harvesting Crop Residues, NebGuide G1846
Issues of crop residue harvest, including nutrient removal and effects on erosion, soil quality, water loss, and yield are discussed in this NebGuide.

Reduce Need for Irrigation by Maintaining Crop Residue and Reducing Soil Tillage

Leaving higher levels of crop residue and doing less tillage can increase the soil water balance by increasing the amount of water that infiltrates the soil from irrigation or precipitation, and decreasing the amount of water that runs off the soil surface. More residue and less tillage also reduce the rate of evaporation of water from the soil. Maintaining residue on the soil surface and doing less tillage can significantly reduce the amount of irrigation water needed to grow a crop.

Water News Archive

Agricultural Irrigation & Water Quality

Subsurface Drip

Regulations & Policies

Order CD/DVD Set

Water Optimizer Tool

Economics & Costs

Crop Water Use (Evapotranspiration)

Center Pivots

Irrigation Management Publications from Nebraska Extension

Reduce Need for Irrigation by Maintaining Crop Residue and Reducing Soil Tillage