Water Issues

How did the Republican River get its name? According to History Nebraska, Nebraska’s Democratic Gov. Frank Morrison would jokingly ask Republican friends if the river got its name “because it’s so shallow or so crooked?” But the name has nothing to do with the modern political party or its predecessors. It’s a reference to a European settler nickname for a band of the Pawnee Nation.

With decreasing snowpack due to drought and climate change, the ski industry has invested millions of dollars in more efficient snowmaking systems. Some question whether the practice is a wise use of energy and water. But a Colorado water official says snowmaking accounts for less than one-tenth of 1% of the water that is diverted in the state and is considered a beneficial use because it brings in tourism.

Little to no water flows from the Republican River's South Fork in southeast Yuma and northern Kit Carson counties into Kansas and Nebraska, where it merges with the main river. Officials have a plan that could cost about $40 million to save the fork.

The Colorado River gets a lot of attention, but it’s not the only multi-state river that starts in Colorado. And it’s definitely not the only one facing a water shortage. On the eastern side of the continental divide is the Republican River. It flows through the cropland of Yuma County and feeds into Kansas and Nebraska. In the first of a three-part series, KUNC explores the economic and environmental challenges the Republican River basin faces.

Gov. Jared Polis has activated Colorado's drought plan to track impacts, save water, coordinate local responses and help hard-hit farmers following a federal assessment that determined that the state is abnormally dry or in drought for the first time in eight years.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of the Colorado River as an essential part of life in the Western U.S. But the future of the river is shrouded in…