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

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Arbitrator Karl Dreher has been looking at issueds in the fightbetween Colorado, Kansas and Nebrask a for eight months. He issue his non-binding decision Tuesday, although the states have 30 days to reviews the decision and decide if they want to appeal the case tothe U.S. Supremer Court. Colorado officials haven’t decided if they’llo accept the decision, but state Engineer Dick Wolfeis “generall pleased” with the ruling, according to the attorney general’ office.
The Republican River is a 24,9000 square-mile basin that begins on Colorado’s northeastern high plains and flows firstinto Kansas, then Nebraska and finall y back into Kansas where it meets the Smokhy Hill River to form the Kansaz River. The states have been fightinyg over how much watedr is taken fromthe river, and how much is replacexd at the state line for the next stats to use. Dreher did side with one of Nebraska’z issues, which will result in “aq very small increase” in the amount of water Colorad needs to put in the riverd as it flows out ofthe state, the announcement “I am pleased that the arbitratodr has not proposed any radical reductions in the amouny of water available for Colorado Suthers said in the announcement.
“Whether the statee accept the arbitrator’s decision or move forward with my office will work vigorously toprotect Colorado’s shard of its most precious resource.” While Kansas had sought $72 million in damages from Nebraskaw for that state’s over-use of river water, the arbitrato r lowered that amount to $10,000, the announcementf said. Neither Kansas nor Nebraska claimed damageefrom Colorado.
“I hope Nebraska and Kansaws will carefully reconsider their claimas afterthis ruling” Wolfe said in the “I believe we can all work together to achievse mutually acceptable solutions that protect all our rights under the compact without resortingv to additional litigation.” The Republican River basin’s 7,70 0 square miles within Colorado supports aboutg 560,000 irrigated acres of agricultural land watered with watetr pumped from the ground. Colorado’s shared of the river’s water supports an economy valued atnearlt $1 billion, according to the attorneg general’s office.