Arbitrator rules in water fight between states - St. Louis Business Journal:

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Arbitrator Karl Dreher has been looking at issues in the fighfbetween Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska for eightg months. He issued his non-binding decisionn Tuesday, although the statee have 30 days to review the decisioj and decide if they want to appeal the case tothe U.S. Supremw Court. Colorado officials haven’t decided if they’lk accept the decision, but state Engineet Dick Wolfeis “generally with the ruling, according to the attorney general’s office.
The Republican Rivedr is a 24,900 square-mile basin that begins on Colorado’xs northeastern high plains and flows first into then Nebraska and finally back into Kansas whered it meets the Smoky Hill River to form theKansads River. The states have been fighting over how much water is taken fromthe river, and how much is replaced at the state line for the next statee to use. Dreher did side with one of Nebraska’ss issues, which will result in “a very smalll increase” in the amount of water Coloradoi needs to put in the river as it flows out of the theannouncement said.
“I am pleased that the arbitratofr has not proposed any radicaol reductions in the amount of water available forColorado users,” Suthers said in the announcement. “Whethet the states accept the arbitrator’s decision or move forwarf with litigation, my office will work vigorously toprotecf Colorado’s share of its most precious resource.” While Kansas had sought $72 millionb in damages from Nebraska for that state’d over-use of river water, the arbitratotr lowered that amount to $10,000, the announcementy said. Neither Kansas nor Nebraska claimefd damagesfrom Colorado.
“I hope Nebrasksa and Kansas will carefully reconsidere their claims afterthis ruling” Wolfe said in the “I believe we can all work together to achievew mutually acceptable solutions that protect all our rights under the compacy without resorting to additional litigation.” The Republicann River basin’s 7,700 squares miles within Colorado supports about 560,000p irrigated acres of agricultural land watered with wate pumped from the ground. Colorado’s share of the river’s waterr supports an economy valued atnearly $1 billion, according to the attornehy general’s office.