Surface and Groundwater Data Collection and Application for Integrated Water Management in Nebraska

The Integrated Water Management Division of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (the Department) works to ensure a balance between water supplies and demands and to protect the rights of existing users of surface water and groundwater. Because groundwater and surface water are hydrologically connected, water supply management decisions should take into account the availability and use of both surface and sub-surface water supplies, as well as the interactions between them. This poster explores the path of hydrogeologic data for integrated water management in Nebraska from the collection of data through surface and groundwater monitoring, through model development and integration, to sharing data through the Department’s new INSIGHT website, and finally to the application of data during the integrated management planning process.

The Department first gathers information from a variety of monitoring networks. These data are then incorporated into the Department’s groundwater, surface water, and watershed models, which are then integrated to simulate the flow of water resources through the natural hydrologic cycle in combination with historical anthropogenic activities. Together, these models provide a better understanding of the complex interactions between groundwater systems and other hydrologic components. The Department’s INSIGHT website makes the results of these modeling efforts available to the public in an easy-to-use format. The data available on INSIGHT can be used by water managers, including those in Nebraska’s 23 Natural Resources Districts (NRDs), to support proactive water supply management decisions. Through the state’s integrated management planning and basin-wide planning processes, the Department and NRDs collaborate to work towards maintaining or achieving a balance between water supplies and demands. Effective water management decisions are based on the best available scientific data; therefore, the Department continually strives to identify areas where having additional data will help to present a more complete picture of a basin’s water supplies or demands.